Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the oral health status of paediatric dental patients in Greece.
Int J Paediatr Dent
; 33(3): 246-253, 2023 May.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2249637
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Limited evidence regarding the post-COVID-19 dental status of paediatric patients is available, with most studies assessing only children's oral health habits.AIM:
To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the oral health of paediatric dental patients in Greece.DESIGN:
This was a retrospective cohort study that included a questionnaire on children's oral health behavior and a clinical examination assessing dental caries and dental treatment needs using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System criteria, dmft/DMFT, and Treatment Need Index. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for a statistical comparison between questionnaire and clinical data before, during, and after the lockdown.RESULTS:
A total of 102 children with a median age of 9 years were recruited from the current cohort of patients that had their last dental examination 6 months prior to the lockdown. Results from the questionnaire showed decreased brushing frequency with increased eating frequency and sugar consumption during the lockdown period (p < .001). Moreover, 16.5% had to visit the dentist for urgent care during the lockdown, 13.6% experienced dental pain, and 51.5% did not experience any dental emergencies. Clinical examination, after the lockdown, recorded significantly increased mean dmft/DMFT scores by 0.63 units in the primary dentition (p = .01) and 0.52 units in the permanent teeth (p = .002). Significantly higher treatment needs, with more carious lesions requiring extensive treatment after the lockdown, were recorded (p < .001).CONCLUSION:
The COVID-19 lockdown negatively affected children's oral health behavior caries prevalence increased and more complex dental treatments were required.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Dental Caries
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Paediatr Dent
Journal subject:
Dentistry
/
Pediatrics
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ipd.13048
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