Relationship between Quality of Marriages, Marital Counseling and Management of Oral Lesions among Married Female Worshippers attending Religious Worship Centers in South Western Population in Nigeria.

Abstract

BACKGROUND/ AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Quality of marriage is a strong indicator of human health. Happily married people tend to show signs of better health when compared to the unmarried. Women in unhappy homes are under chronic stress, they show impaired social behavior, mental stress disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Information on the effects of marriage on oral health is very scanty despite the huge influence of oral health care on the quality of life.   METHODOLODY This is a longitudinal designed study of female religious worshippers in a south western state of Nigeria.  Religious Worship Centres (RWCs) were selected at random in the city. Married females in the selected RWCs were contacted through their leaders on the scheduled date. They were offered health education and were asked to complete a structured questionnaire on their oral health and quality of their marriages. Extra oral and intra oral examination were carried out and the findings recorded. Scaling and polishing, marital counseling with emphasis on the needs to maintain quality marriages, and appropriate routine dental treatments were delivered to all participants. Data analysis was done with STATA 16 software. Relationship between frequency of oral lesions before and after intervention was analyzed for using ttest, p >0.01. RESULTS A total of 113 married female religious worshippers participated in the study. Their mean age was 57.9 years SD 12.8. Majority (101, 92%) currently reside with their husbands, 2(2%) divorced and 7% widowed.  81 (71.7%) had good quality of marriages while 32 (28.3%) had poor quality of marriages. Oral lesions seen before intervention are periodontitis (30, 26.5%), xerostomia (25, 22.1%), mouth odour (22, 19.1%) and Orofacial/TMJ pain (27, 23.3%). Lesions are significantly more prevalent among those with poor quality of marriages. After intervention the prevalence of mouth odour, periodontitis, xerostomia and extra marital romantic relationship reduced significantly by 82% (p=0.04), 53% (p=0.001), 76% (p=0.001) and 89 %( p=0.024) respectively.  CONSCLUSION One third of married, self employed women in their fifth decade of life had poor quality of marriages.  Oral lesions are more prevalent among married women with poor quality of marriage and they also have 94.4% chance of getting involved in extra marital romantic relationship. Significant oral lessons were mouth odour, Orofacial pain, xerostomia and periodontitis. Treatment of oral lesions coupled with marital counseling significantly reduced the prevalence of oral lesions and enhanced their marital life. Key words: Quality&nbsp