Abstract Pregnant women are considered a vulnerable group to oral diseases, including gingivitis, periodontitis, and dental caries, due to physiological and hormonal changes during pregnancy. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of antenatal care (ANC) providers (gynecologists/obstetricians and general practitioners) regarding the oral health of pregnant women in Nepal during perinatal visits and to identify barriers to providing perinatal oral health. A cross-sectional online study was conducted among ANC providers in Nepal. Knowledge, attitude, practice, and barriers were assessed by using a questionnaire consisting of 16 items for knowledge, 11 items for attitude, 8 items for practice, and 11 items for barriers. The questionnaire was sent to participants through a Google Survey Form using a convenience sampling technique. Only 42 questionnaires were returned, comprising 25 gynecologists and 17 general practitioners, with a response rate of 16.60%. The overall knowledge and practice were found to be a mean of 9.69 ± 2.57 (60.5%) and 5.61 ± 2.35 (70.12%), respectively. Almost one-third of the participants knew about periodontitis and its association with stillbirth. Only one (2.38%) participant provided counseling regarding the association of poor periodontal health with negative birth outcomes. All the participants agreed that maintaining oral health during pregnancy is important. However, only two (4.76%) participants always discussed oral health with pregnant women during ANC. Almost two-thirds of the participants, 31 (73.80%), perceived that they were less trained to perform oral health examinations of pregnant women. The study found that most participants did not routinely discuss oral health problems or their potential impact during pregnancy. Despite generally positive attitudes, oral health assessment and counseling were limited in practice.
Subedi et al. (2026) studied this question.