Oral Health Needs and Barriers among Children in Saudi Arabia.

(1) Background: Understanding oral health needs and barriers is important to overcome the oral disease burden, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess oral health needs and barriers among Saudi children after the COVID-19 pandemic wave started. (2) Methods: Parents of healthy children aged 3-11 years from five regions of Saudi Arabia were surveyed using an electronically administered validated questionnaire from Febuary-2021 to July-2021. Oral lesions/manifestations during the last 12 months reported by parents included tooth discoloration, ulcers, abscess, swelling of the gingiva, halitosis, gingival bleeding, dry mouth, pain while eating, difficulty in speaking or eating, burning sensation, and white spots. Barriers were assessed according to the WHO Oral Health Questionnaire. (3) Results: Children experiencing toothaches were reported by 1098 (72.4%) respondents. When reported, oral manifestations and lesions were associated with a higher inability to visit a dentist (p < 0.001). Barriers to dental care were more frequent among parents with lower education (p < 0.001; adjusted-odds ratio (AOR), 1.815) and a greater number of children (p < 0.001; AOR, 1.197). (4) Conclusion: Parents reported a high frequency of unmet oral health needs. Education could play an important role in improving oral health care in children and as a predictor of public health concerns.

Children’s access to dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country survey

We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on children’s access to dental care and determine factors associated with problems in accessing dental care. A multi-country cross-sectional survey collected data from caregivers of children from August 2020 to February 2021. The questionnaire was developed guided by the framework of the Andersen’s model of factors (predisposing, enabling and need). Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess the association between access-to-dental care problem and predisposing, enabling and need factors. A total of 4,843 caregivers from 20-countries reported on their children (52.3% males, mean age = 8.4 years) with 29.2% having access to care problem. A significantly greater percentage of caregivers from lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) than low-income countries (LICs), upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and high-income countries (HICs) reported an access-to-dental care problem (P < .001). Caregivers living in LICS, university-educated caregivers, caregivers with older children and caregivers whose children had more frequent pain during the pandemic had higher odds of reporting an access to dental care problem. The association of the access problem with dental pain and dental insurance was modified by country income, showing a link between macrolevel contextual factors and the utilization of dental care in children that needs to be addressed in future studies. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Children's Health Care is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)