ABSTRACT
Objectives: To identify the socio behavioural factors that influenced children’s oral health during the coronavirus outbreak. Methods: The online cross-sectional study was conducted in Al Jouf Province, the northern region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 960 parents of children aged 5 to 14 years were invited by multistage stratified random sampling. Descriptive, multinomial and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate odds ratios and determine the relationship between independent and dependent variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 960 participants, 693 (72.1%) reported that their child had one or more untreated dental decay. The children of uneducated parents were 1.6-fold more likely to have one or more untreated dental decay (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.66, 95% CI 0.74–3.73; P < 0.001). The children of unemployed parents were 4.3-fold more likely to have a financial burden for child dental visit (AOR: 4.34, 95% CI 2.73–6.89; P < 0.001). The parents from the rural area were 26.3-fold more likely to have more than 2 years since their last dental visit (AOR: 26.34, 95% CI 7.48–92.79; P < 0.001). Nursery-level children were 5.4-fold more likely to need immediate care (AOR: 5.38, 95% CI 3.01–9.60; P < 0.001). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated a very high prevalence of one or more untreated dental decay. Children of rural areas, uneducated, unemployed, widow/divorced, low and middle-income parents and nursery school children were linked with poorly predicted outcomes of child oral health during the pandemic.
Fuente: International Dental Journal
Available online 12 December 2022
