Objective- To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental anxiety (DA) and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) proxy measures using electronic dental records from Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (TUKSoD). Methods- A cross-sectional study comparing data before the COVID-19 Pandemic (G1) (N=4,516) and before (G2) (N=3,995) and after the vaccine was available (G3) (N=3,891) was analyzed for patients 18 and older. The independent variables are age, sex, race, diabetic status, hypertension status, and DA. The dependent variable – OHRQoL – has four components (trouble while chewing, speaking, embarrassment due to dental problems, and pain/ sensitivity) which were converted to a composite score for analysis. OHRQoL, were coded as good, fair, and poor. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess outcome differences across the three groups. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.
Results- The proportion of individuals with poor DA in G1, G2, and G3 were about 5%, 3%, and 4% respectively. The proportion of individuals with poor OHRQoL were 8%, 5%, and 4% in G1, G2, and G3, respectively. About 26%, 21%, 19% reported poor social interactions in G1, G2, and G3, respectively. About 1% of individuals in G1, G2, and G3 reported poor speaking. About 8%, 3%, and 5% reported poor chewing in G1, G2, and G3, respectively. About 4% of individuals in G1 and 3% in both G2 and G3 reported poor comfort. Significant differences in DA were observed between G1 vs G2 (p=<0.01) and G1 vs G3 (p=<0.01). Also, significant differences in OHRQoL between G1 vs G2 (p=<0.01), G2 vs G3 (p=0.01), and G1 vs G3 (p-value=<0.01). Associations between DA and OHRQoL were seen across G1, G2, and G3. Hypertension and diabetic status also seemed to be associated with OHRQoL at multiple points in this study.
Conclusion- Overall, OHRQoL and dental anxiety improved post COVID-19 vaccine availability compared to the pre-COVID-19 vaccine availability and the pre-COVID-19 pandemic. This could be attributed to increased health consciousness triggered by the COVID-19 events. / Oral Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/8477 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Weyman, Alissa |
| Contributors | Ogwo, Chukwuebuka, Tellez Merchán, Marisol, DiPede, Louis |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 72 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/8441, Theses and Dissertations |
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