Objective: Due to the transmission of coronavirus by particle or droplet, diagnosis and treatment of dental problems during the pandemic period in dental settings has been seen as a direct infection risk. This study aimed to compare parents' approach to dental treatment with their educational background during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in İstanbul. Material and Methods: The parents were invited to answer the questionnaire via electronic form. The questionnaire form consists of 3 parts: (i) the sociodemographic characteristics of the parents (age, gender, educational level and number of children) (ii) parents' behaviors, risk perceptions and knowledge levels during the COVID-19 pandemic (iii) parents' approaches to dental treatment during the pandemic period (risk perceptions, behaviors and attitudes). The data was evaluated through the SPSS 25.0 statistical package program. Chi-square, Fisher's exact, Bonferroni correction and student t-tests were used to evaluate the difference for categorical variables (p<0.05). Results: Response rate was 73.2% (366 parents). The average age of parents is 28.76. Parents with university or higher education level preferred not to go out as a precaution in the pandemic compared to parents with high school or less education level (p=0.044). When their children had toothache complaints during the pandemic period, the situation of taking them to the dentist was statistically significant and higher in parents with a university or higher education level (p=0.003). Conclusion: All these evaluations show that people with a high level of education have behaved more sensitive in terms of both virus protection and dental treatment behaviors during the pandemic period.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; pediatric dentistry; oral health
Amaç: Koronavirüsün partikül veya damlacık yoluyla bulaşması nedeniyle pandeminin ilk dönemlerinde diş hekimliği ortamlarında diş problemlerinin teşhis ve tedavisi doğrudan enfeksiyon riski olarak görülmüştür. Bu çalışma, İstanbul'da koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 [coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)] salgını sırasında ebeveynlerin diş tedavisine yaklaşımlarını eğitim seviyeleri ile karşılaştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Ebeveynler, elektronik form aracılığıyla anketi yanıtlamaya davet edildi. Anket formu 3 bölümden oluşmaktadır: (i) ebeveynlerin sosyodemografik özellikleri (yaş, cinsiyet, eğitim düzeyi ve çocuk sayısı) (ii) COVID-19 pandemisi sırasında ebeveynlerin davranışları, risk algıları ve bilgi düzeyleri (iii) pandemi döneminde ebeveynlerin diş tedavisine yaklaşımları (risk algıları, davranışları ve tutumları). Veriler SPSS 25.0 istatistik paket programı ile değerlendirildi. Kategorik değişkenler arasındaki farkı değerlendirmek için ki-kare, Fisher's exact, Bonferroni düzeltmesi ve student t-testleri kullanıldı (p<0,05). Bulgular: Yanıt oranı %73,2 (366 ebeveyn) idi. Ebeveynlerin yaş ortalaması 28,76'dır. Üniversite ve üzeri eğitim düzeyine sahip anne-babalar, lise ve altı eğitim düzeyine sahip anne-babalara göre pandemide önlem olarak dışarı çıkmamayı tercih etti (p=0,044). Pandemi döneminde çocuklarının diş ağrısı şikâyeti olduğunda diş hekimine götürme durumu üniversite ve üzeri eğitim düzeyine sahip ebeveynlerde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve daha yüksekti (p=0,003). Sonuç: Tüm bu değerlendirmeler, eğitim düzeyi yüksek kişilerin pandemi döneminde hem virüsten korunma hem de diş tedavisi davranışları açısından daha duyarlı davrandığını göstermektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19 pandemisi; çocuk diş hekimliği; ağız sağlığı
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