Hamad Dental Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
College of Dental Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2023 Dec;24(6):787-795. doi: 10.1007/s40368-023-00847-6. Epub 2023 Oct 17.
Understanding the impact of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic social restrictions on the lives of children and adolescents is of utmost importance to enable timely diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of anxiety, sleep bruxism, temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and change in dietary and brushing habits and their association with COVID-19 social restrictions.
Parents of fit and healthy Qatari children and adolescents were recruited and interviewed by the research team, whereby validated questioners were used to assess the prevalence of children's/adolescents' anxiety, sleep bruxism and TMD. Furthermore, changes in dietary and brushing habits were also evaluated.
A total of 199 parents of children and adolescents (mean age = 9.3 ± 3.2 years old) were included. Overall anxiety symptoms, sleep bruxism and TMD were evident in 29.6%, 5.7% and 23.1%, respectively. An increased consumption of food, sweets and worsening of brushing habits were evident in 51.8%, 62.8% and 31.2%, respectively.
Within the limitations of this study, pandemic-related social restrictions could result in elevated levels of anxiety, specifically, social phobia, amongst children and adolescents, which could inevitably lead to unwanted dental consequences.
了解 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行社会限制对儿童和青少年生活的影响对于及时诊断和治疗至关重要。因此，本研究旨在探讨焦虑症、睡眠磨牙症、颞下颌关节紊乱（TMD）的患病率以及饮食和刷牙习惯的变化及其与 COVID-19 社会限制的关系。
研究小组招募了卡塔尔健康儿童和青少年的父母，并对他们进行了访谈，使用经过验证的问卷评估儿童/青少年焦虑症、睡眠磨牙症和 TMD 的患病率。此外，还评估了饮食和刷牙习惯的变化。
共纳入 199 名儿童和青少年的家长（平均年龄 9.3±3.2 岁）。总体而言，焦虑症状、睡眠磨牙症和 TMD 的发生率分别为 29.6%、5.7%和 23.1%。分别有 51.8%、62.8%和 31.2%的儿童和青少年明显增加了食物、甜食的摄入量和刷牙习惯恶化。
在本研究的限制范围内，与大流行相关的社会限制可能导致儿童和青少年的焦虑水平升高，特别是社交恐惧症，这可能不可避免地导致不良的牙科后果。
