RESUMO
Pediatric dental emergencies can occur as a result of untreated dental caries, or can be caused by trauma or periodontal issues. The lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of centers authorized to deliver dental services in Romania, with only a small number of dentists delivering dental emergency treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic characteristics of children and adolescent patients who were treated in the dental emergency department of Oradea, Romania and to compare the patients who were treated in the dental emergency department in the pre-lockdown (2019), lockdown (2020) and post-lockdown year (2021). All patients who were treated in the dental emergency department were included in the study except for adults and medical files that did not contain all relevant information. Several variables were investigated (age, gender, living environment, location of affected teeth, type of emergency). In 2019, 257 children and adolescents were treated, in 2020, 198, and in 2021, 136. Most patients were aged 7-12 years in all investigated years (2019-47.9%; 2020-50.5%; 2021-43.4%), and the most affected teeth were located in the lower posterior arch (2019-53.3%; 2020-53%; 2021-48.5%). The most frequent emergencies were pulpitis (2019-40.5%; 2020-43.9%) and acute apical periodontitis (2021-42.6%). It was observed that in 2019, patients aged between 0 and 6 years were more frequently associated with trauma (p < 0.001), and in 2019 and 2020, patients aged between 7 and 12 years were more frequently associated with periodontal emergencies (p < 0.001). In 2020, patients from rural areas were more frequently associated with pulpitis (p = 0.025), and in 2021, patients from rural areas were more frequently associated with pulpitis or acute apical periodontitis, and patients from urban areas were associated more frequently with periodontal emergencies (p = 0.042). Pediatric patients with ages between 7 and 12 years old, who lived in an urban environment were most affected. Teeth located in the lower and upper posterior dental arches were most affected, and pulpitis or acute apical periodontitis were the most common pathologies.
RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the daily lives of the global population, not only in terms of social interaction but also in terms of access to medical and dental care. Non-urgent dental treatments could not be continued during the lockdown and only a small number of dental centres addressed patients with dental emergencies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, and living environment) of the individuals that accessed the dental emergency centre in Oradea (North-West Romania) and the main causes for accessing the dental emergency service among the population of Oradea (North-West Romania), during the COVID-19 lockdown, between March and May 2020 and, furthermore, to compare the results obtained in the lockdown timeframe (March-May 2020), with the results obtained in the corresponding timeframe in the pre-lockdown year (March-May 2019) and post-lockdown year (March-May 2021). The retrospective study was carried out by analysing the medical records of the patients who were treated in the dental emergency service of the Oradea County Emergency Clinical Hospital in the following periods: March-May 2019, March-May 2020, and March-May 2021. Most patients were treated in 2020, during the lockdown (n = 784), predominantly in April (n = 308). Most patients treated in April 2020 were male patients (43.7%, n = 205) and were aged between 30 and 39 years (19.4%, n = 74). The most frequent types of dental emergencies were acute apical periodontitis and acute pulpitis in all the months and years investigated. During the lockdown months of 2020, acute pulpitis was the most frequent type of emergency in March (42.2%, n = 100) and May (45.6%, n = 109), while in April, acute apical periodontitis was the most frequent type of emergency (43.5%, n = 166). The COVID-19 lockdown led to an increase in the number of patients that required emergency treatments and impacted all groups of people investigated.
RESUMO
Background and Objectives: The goal of this survey was to identify the relationship between the level of satisfaction with body image, perceived health, and the usage of social media among freshmen medical university students. The influence of social media and peers was also related to body image. Materials and Methods: An online survey was distributed among freshmen healthcare students. The questionnaire collected sociodemographic, anthropometric data, and information about students' perception about healthy lifestyle using open-ended questions, as well as their opinion about the importance of perfect body image and the level of satisfaction with their physical appearance. Questions focusing on the use of social media and the relationship with body image collected data on the use of social networks and how they affect students' opinion about their own body image. Psychometric data were also gathered using the Body Consciousness Scale. For the statistical analysis, QSR NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing) Vivo 12 was used for qualitative data and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics for Windows, version 23 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for descriptive and comparative results. Results: In total, 77 students aged 20.09 ± 2.47 years, of which the majority were women (75.30%), were included in the survey. The use of social network was about 4.81 ± 3.60 h/day. Facebook was the most used social networking site (94.80%), followed by Instagram (92.20%), Snapchat (16.90%), WhatsApp (15.60%), and TikTok (10.40%). The most common reason for using these sites was socialization. We found that 64.90% of healthcare students were normal weight. The main barriers for having a healthy lifestyle, as they were perceived by students, were the busy schedule and the lack of time needed to prepare healthy meals, lack of motivation, and lack of money. Women scored higher for the Private Body Consciousness and Public Body Consciousness scales. The main aspects related to a healthy lifestyle referred to physical activity, consumption of fruit and vegetables, water consumption, and a good quality of sleep. Gender differences were discussed as well. Conclusions: The results illustrated the complexity of the relationship between social media and body image and the need to prevent body image concerns, especially in young women.
