Oral health practice and health-related quality of life of a group of children during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Istanbul

Abstract

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic period of coronavirus disease, appropriate oral health management and disease prevention of children are very important for children s oral and general health. The aim of this study was to survey to better understand in children s dental health and dietary habits and to learn about parents attitudes toward dental treatment and clinical factors associated with their QoL using the Turkish version of KIDSCREEN-10 during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general public. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-part questionnaire, namely Part 1 addressed topics regarding changes in general and dental health, dietary habits of children under quarantine, and sociodemographic characteristics of the family and Part 2 impact of QoL was assessed by the KIDSCREEN-10 scale with 10 questions. The questionnaire was sent online using WhatsApp to a convenience sample of mothers with children between the age group of 8 and 18 years, who lived in Istanbul. Variables were statistically analyzed using the Student s t-test for independent samples and Univariate F-test, ANOVA according to the characteristics of variables which were analyzed. RESULTS: This study included 328 from 557 mothers with 58% respondent rate. The consumption of fast food, packaged food, and carbonated beverages decreased during the COVID-19 outbreak. Half of the mothers of children reported that they were anxious or fearful about their children visiting dentists during the pandemic and 64.2% of the children missed routine dental visits. The KIDSCREEN-10 scores for 13 years old or older children were influenced more by the COVID-19 pandemic than those for the 8–12 years old, who had a better QoL (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study emphasize the importance of oral health and QoL of children during the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. The general perception of QoL in this group of Turkish children seemed to be substantially affected by COVID-19 outbreak.