A Panoramic View of Various Modalities Used to Manage Evolving Dental Problems and Changing Oral Hygiene Patterns in Children during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: COVID-19 has influenced billions of people, impacting all aspects of life, including healthcare needs.Pediatric dental needs were substantially affected during lockdown due to the limited dental care.The present study aim is to assess the dental problems experienced by children and methods adopted to resolve these problems with the help of local facilities through different communications/teledentistry.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,500 pediatric dental patients who were undergoing treatment before lockdown or who were previously visited to the dental department of a tertiary hospital in Delhi.The structured 15-item dental problems and treatment needs (DPTN) Questionnaire which was customized and validated for the study was employed for the assessment of dental needs of the children and how they managed during the pandemic.Results: Participants were interviewed telephonically; and the findings indicated a significant trend of adverse impacts on children's oral health.The majority of the children, 83.47% suffered from toothache, 50.80% had tooth-related swelling whereas only 3.13% experienced dental trauma during COVID-19 pandemic.The majority of parents 64.1% opt for home management rather than consulting dental professionals in which more than 57.5% practiced self-medication for their children's dental problems.Regarding the brushing frequencies in children, significant differences were observed during prepandemic and between COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.5).Moreover, additional oral hygiene measures were also adopted by their parents.The change in frequency of toothbrushing from pre-and between COVID-19 pandemic was associated with COVID-19 related consequences. Conclusion:The pandemic has profoundly changed socioeconomic conditions with the oral health condition of the majority of Indian children being adversely impacted and neglected.Prevalence of self-medication for children's dental problems was high during pandemic.Furthermore, it had a detrimental influence on daily toothbrushing, resulting in lower brushing frequency in children during COVID-19.