Gingival Hyperplasia during Pregnancy: Frequency and Clinical Presentation in a Tertiary Level Hospital in Yaoundé-Cameroon

Gingival hyperplasia or gingival overgrowth, which is a common trait of gingival disease, is characterized by an increase in the size of the gingiva. Gingival hyperplasia according to past reports has numerous etiological factors one of which is pregnancy due to increased hormone levels. Although pregnancy does not directly cause gingival hyperplasia, it may catalyze local etiological factors. Objectives: To determine the frequency and clinical aspects of gingival hyperplasia during pregnancy. Methodology: We conducted a cross sectional descriptive study from November 2021 to June 2022 at the Yaoundé Gyneco-Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire and clinical assessments done using dental consultation kits. Data were analyzed with the International Business Machine Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 21.0 software. Results: We recruited 231 eligible participants for our study. Of 231, 101 (43.7%) had gingival hyperplasia. Most of our study population were between 20 - 40 years old and gingival hyperplasia was most commonly found in the 3^rd trimester (60.7%). We reported that 31.3% of our population had a plaque score 2 and only 7.8% had consulted a dentist during pregnancy. We also observed that 93.3% of our population manifested a mild/moderate form of the disease while 6.9% had a severe form. Our study showed that 72.3% and 27.3% had a localized and generalized form of the disease, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that gingival hyperplasia is a common pathology in pregnant women. It is most found in the third trimester. It presents more commonly as a localized form, and degree of severity is mostly moderate.