Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the timing of dental care in Peruvian children

Background. Due to the high transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), governments adopted preventive measures, such as social distancing and obligatory social immobilization, which negatively affected access to health services, including oral health services. Similarly, dental care restraint arose in this context, with the aim of reducing the possibility of cross-infection caused by aerosols, which notably restricted dental care activity. Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the timing of dental care in Peruvian children. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study with a population of 42,115 respondents for 2019 and 20,510 for 2020 was conducted. The participants were children aged 0-11 years. The records of those who responded to the question on the time since their last dental care were considered, extracting a total of 22,166 (69.03%) subjects for 2019 and 9,945 (30.97%) subjects for 2020. The dependent variable consisted of the time since the last dental care measured in years; the variables of health, geographic and sociodemographic characteristics were grouped within 3 dimensions. Descriptive bivariate and multivariate analyses were applied by means of multiple linear regression in order to analyze the variables. Results. The time since the last dental care during 2019 was 5.25 +/- 4.30 years, and it increased to 6.64 +/- 4.90 years in 2020. Within the multivariate analysis, the dimensions and their variables were ordered hierarchically for 2019 and 2020 separately, and as a whole. Each model was not significant when observed independently (p > 0.05); however, when evaluated as a whole, validity was observed only in model 1 of the year (p = 0.018), with R-2 = 2.90, a constant equal to 3.852, the non-standardized regression coefficient (beta) of 1.653, and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.289-3.018. Conclusions. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic year had a negative impact on the timing of dental care in Peruvian children, increasing it by 1.39 years as compared to 2019.