# Oral health locus of control in pregnant women with diabetes: a cross-sectional study

## TL;DR

This study explores how pregnant women with diabetes perceive control over their oral health, finding that education and pregnancy planning influence these perceptions.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into oral health locus of control among pregnant women with diabetes, highlighting the role of education and pregnancy planning.

## Key findings

- Literate women had higher external locus of knowledge and chance scores.
- Women who planned their pregnancy had higher internal and external locus of practice scores.
- Significant differences were found in oral health perceptions based on various factors.

## Abstract

Perceptions of oral and dental health are crucial for health promotion. Pregnant women with diabetes are at increased risk for periodontal problems, making it important to understand their oral health locus of control to guide effective interventions. This study aimed to investigate the oral health locus of control among pregnant women with diabetes mellitus.

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in the hospital’s perinatology clinics, involving 141 pregnant women with diabetes mellitus between July 2023 and 2024. The data were collected using the “Multidimensional Oral Health Locus of Control Scale”. For comparisons involving non-normally distributed data, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis H test were used. In contrast, normally distributed data were analyzed using the Independent Samples t-test and One-Way Analysis of Variance. Approval from the ethics committee and institutional permission from the relevant hospital, and the participants’ informed consent were obtained.

Literate pregnant women had higher scores in the external locus of knowledge and chance locus of control, while those who planned their pregnancy had higher scores in the internal locus of control and external locus of practice. Statistically significant differences were found in sub-dimensions and total scores when oral health-related factors and pregnant women’s views on oral health, pregnancy, birth, and nutrition were examined.

It is recommended that training and counselling should be provided to increase the perception of oral and dental health behaviours of pregnant women with diabetes mellitus, and factors such as women’s educational background and social environment should be taken into consideration during the training.

not applicable.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-025-07401-4.