COVID-19 Pandemisinin Çocuk Hastaların Diş Fırçalama Alışkanlıkları Üzerine Etkisi: Kesitsel Çalışma

Abstract

Objective: Children's tooth brushing habits might have been affected by various factors such as social isolation, restrictions, and homeschooling due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The recent study aimed to determine whether there was a change in the brushing habits of a sample of pediatric patients during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was held on the patients referred to the Gülhane Faculty of Dental Medicine. The patients aged 3-15 years and homeschooling since March 2020 up to questionnaire time (March 2021) were included in the study. The exclusion criteria were having a systemic disease in medical history and attending face-to-face education. Informed consent was obtained, and eight questions, including demographic features of parents/children and daily brushing habits, were directed to the participants. Results: The total number of participants was determined as 203. The mean age of the participants was 9.4±3 (years), and 53% of them were girls, and 47% of them were boys. Participants declared that they 'rarely' brushed (31%) in the morning and 'every time' (31%) at night before the pandemic. Individuals' brushing frequency was also mentioned as 'rarely' (27%) in the morning and 'every time' (33%) at night during the pandemic. Regarding the answers, no difference was detected between pandemic and pre-pandemic brushing frequencies of participants (p>0.05). The most mentioned answers were detected as 'rarely-in the morning' and 'everytime-at night' for whole periods. Conclusion: This study revealed that the childrens' brushing frequencies have not been affected by COVID-19 pandemic period.