COVID-19 pandemic and pediatric dentistry: Fear, eating habits and parent's oral health perceptions

Background: Severe measures have been implemented around the world to reduce COVID-19 spread with a significant impact on family dynamics. Aim: To assess the impact of the pandemic on fear, dietary choices and oral health perceptions of parents. Design: questionnaire containing 19 questions was remotely applied to 1003 parents of children aged 0-12 years. The questions addressed topics regarding changes in daily routine, dietary habits, fear level, oral health, and variation of income during the pandemic. Data analysis included the description of the relative and absolute frequencies of the variables. Association tests were performed using Fisher's exact and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: 73% of respondents reported income loss. Five hundred sixty-eight people denied seeking medical or dental care. 61.5% of respondents revealed changes in the dietary pattern; most of them mentioned an increase in food intake. Most parents (66.6%) would only seek urgent dental care. There was an association between parents' willingness to take their children to dental appointments with the fear level (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Most families have experienced changes in daily routine and eating habits during the pandemic. Parents fear COVID-19 and it impacts their behavior regarding seeking dental care for their children.