Safety protocols at the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry Oral Clinical Examination during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: There are continued concerns about holding large group gatherings with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The American Board of Pediatric Dentistry (ABPD) made the decision to cancel the Oral Clinical Examination (OCE) in 2020 with a goal to host the exam in 2021. This cancellation postponed the board certification of over 400 pediatric dentists. There is limited published data on safety protocols for in-person examinations. AIM: To determine if safety protocols utilized in the administration of the 2021 ABPD Oral Clinical Examination (OCE) were reassuring to candidates and examiners, and effective at addressing prevention of COVID-19 infection. DESIGN: An electronic survey was emailed to candidates and examiners following completion of the board examination process. The candidate survey had 784 and the examiner survey had 108 eligible participants. Eight questions overlapped between the two surveys. Descriptive statistics were utilized. p-values < 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-four candidates (response rate = 50.3%) and 97 examiners (response rate = 89.8%) completed their respective surveys. The majority of candidates (86.8%) and examiners (94.8%) felt safe participating the OCE, and found COVID-19 protocols reassuring, 69.3% and 89.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Participants agreed that safety protocols enacted by the ABPD kept everyone safe and led to a successful and safely conducted high-stakes oral clinical examination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patterns of Food Security and Dietary Intake Among Children Across the U.S. Child Tax Credit Expansion

Objectives Families with lower economic resources are at higher risk for experiencing food insecurity and suboptimal diet quality. During COVID-19, the novel expansion to the U.S. Child Tax Credit (CTC) provided families from lower income backgrounds with unconditional cash assistance ($250–300 per child, each month) from July to December 2021. This additional income has potential to improve food security and diet quality, if spent towards food resources. This study aimed to examine patterns of food insecurity and children's dietary intake before and during monthly CTC payments. Methods Parents (N = 621) with a child ages 2–10 years who qualified for the full CTC benefit were enrolled. Three online surveys were completed baseline (T0: June 2021) and at two timepoints during (T1: September 2021;T2: December 2021) the CTC expansion. The validated 18-item USDA Food Security Module, NCI Dietary Screening Questionnaire, and Beverage Intake Questionnaire were administered at each timepoint. Repeated measures analysis of variance models will examine changes in dietary intake before and during the CTC expansion. Results To date, data from T0 and T1 have been analyzed. Late-breaking data that include T2 results will be presented at Nutrition 2022. At T1, after receiving 3 monthly payments, 45.9% of parents reported spending CTC funds on foods/beverages. This was the most commonly reported use of CTC funds, particularly for families with very low food security (63.0%). From T0 to T1, families with very low food security decreased (T0: 12.7% vs. T1: 5.6%), while food security increased (T0: 57.4% vs. T1: 66.4%). Children's consumption of added sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sweetened fruit juice decreased over time (qs < .05). No changes were observed in other dietary components (qs > .05). Conclusions Initial patterns indicate promise that CTC monthly payments are associated with reduced household food insecurity and lower sugar-sweetened beverage intake among children. This line of research can inform legislative decisions regarding the maintenance of this policy mandate, by enhancing understanding of the CTC expansion's impact on children's food security and nutritional intake. Funding Sources Child Health Research Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University and NIH (2T32CA093423) for ELA effort.

Patterns Of Food Security And Dietary Intake During The First Half Of The Child Tax Credit Expansion.

Temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) during the COVID-19 pandemic provided additional monthly income for US families, with no restrictions on use, from July through December 2021. This study examined food security and children's dietary intake after three months of expanded CTC payments. Parents completed online surveys before and after three months of CTC payments. Among parents participating in the expansion, food and beverage purchases were the most common use of expanded CTC funds (45.9 percent), particularly in households with very low food security (63.0 percent). From before to midway through the CTC expansion, very low food security decreased from 12.7 percent to 5.6 percent, and simultaneously, food security increased from 57.4 percent to 66.4 percent. The CTC expansion was also associated with decreases in children's consumption of added sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sweetened fruit beverages. No changes were observed in children's intake of other dietary components. Our findings suggest that the expanded CTC payments may have helped lessen food insecurity and supported reductions in children's intake of added sugar in participating households.

A descriptive pilot study of the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on dental and dental hygiene students' readiness and wellness.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted dental students training across the U.S. academic dental institutions by moving classroom instruction to an online modality, limiting patient care, canceling external rotations, and rescheduling of licensure examinations. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on students' readiness to enter clinical practice or residency and its association with well-being (anxiety, perceived stress, coping and social support, and resilience). METHODS: An online REDCap survey was distributed to 407 D1-D4 year dental students and 29 DH3-DH4 year dental hygiene students enrolled at a U.S. dental school. The survey consisted of readiness and wellness measures as well as socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 58% (N = 252) ranging from 40% among D4 students to 72% among D1 students. About half (55%) of the respondents were White, a third (34%) Asians and 5% were African Americans. Ninety-two percent were non-Hispanics while 62% were female. Overall mean (SD) anxiety score was 6.5 (5.3) and 26% of respondents reported moderate or severe levels of anxiety. Anxiety score differed significantly by gender with females reporting higher anxiety levels, mean (SD) = 7.3 (5.5) versus 5.2 (4.7) for males; P = 0.002). Furthermore, mean anxiety score differed significantly among the dental school classes, ranging from 5.5 (5.3) among D2 students to 11.8 (6.2) in DH4 students (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Academic dental institutions need to be responsive to the heightened anxiety and uncertainly levels of students and provide responsive training and support to mitigate its effects.