Pingsuthiwong Paratcha, Wiriyakijja Paswach, Pisarnturakit Pagaporn Pantuwadee, Subbalekha Keskanya
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Digital Implant Surgery Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
J Patient Exp. 2025 May 9;12:23743735251342125. doi: 10.1177/23743735251342125. eCollection 2025.
The COVID-19 pandemic influenced dental care behaviors, with increased concern over virus transmission. This study provides insights into Thai patient behaviors and attitudes about dental care during the Omicron wave. A cross-sectional survey was conducted via Google Forms in June 2022, collecting sociodemographic data, attitudes, and behaviors related to dental care during the pandemic. Nine hundred and seventy-eight responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney -test, and multiple linear regression. Nearly half of the respondents expressed high to extreme concerns about delayed dental care affecting oral health (49.3%) and the risk of contracting COVID-19 in dental settings (45.7%). Individuals who avoided dental visits increased from 8.1% before the pandemic to 36.3% during the pandemic. However, 59.4% of respondents reported confidence in avoiding COVID-19 when dental workers strictly followed preventive measures. The study highlights concern over delayed dental care and COVID-19 risks, leading to increased avoidance of visits. However, strict preventive measures by dental workers boosted confidence, emphasizing the need for effective infection control to ensure continued access to dental care.
新冠疫情影响了牙科护理行为，人们对病毒传播的担忧加剧。本研究深入探讨了在奥密克戎毒株流行期间泰国患者在牙科护理方面的行为和态度。2022年6月通过谷歌表单进行了一项横断面调查，收集了疫情期间与牙科护理相关的社会人口统计学数据、态度和行为。使用描述性统计、曼-惠特尼检验和多元线性回归对978份回复进行了分析。近一半的受访者对延迟牙科护理影响口腔健康（49.3%）以及在牙科诊所感染新冠病毒的风险（45.7%）表示高度至极度担忧。避免看牙的人数从疫情前的8.1%增至疫情期间的36.3%。然而，59.4%的受访者表示，当牙科工作人员严格遵守预防措施时，他们对避免感染新冠病毒有信心。该研究凸显了对延迟牙科护理和新冠病毒风险的担忧，导致看牙次数减少。然而，牙科工作人员采取的严格预防措施增强了信心，强调需要有效的感染控制措施以确保人们能够持续获得牙科护理服务。
