"Dr. Google, I Have a Toothache"- Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Toothache-Related Internet Searches with Google Trends Data

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between online searches for the term toothache and the COVID-19 pandemic in Türkiye by using Google Trends (GT) data. Methods: GT search was performed for the term "toothache" (in Turkish) for the period from March 03, 2019, to May 28, 2022, across Türkiye, and relative search volumes (RSV) per week were recorded. The dates between March 03, 2019-March 07, 2020 were considered as the pre-pandemic period, and between March 08, 2020-May 28, 2022 were considered as the pandemic period. The pandemic period was further divided into three groups; the early period, the full lockdown period, and the other weeks during the pandemic period. The mean RSV values of the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods were compared, and the relationship between the mean RSV values of pandemic period groups was also examined. The correlation between the number of COVID-19 cases and the RSV was analyzed. The statistical significance level was accepted as P <.05. Results: The mean RSV was significantly lower in the pre-pandemic period (62.96±9.98) than in the pandemic period (67.52±11.51) (P <.05). In the early pandemic period group, higher mean RSV was determined than other groups (P<.001). A negative correlation was found between the number of cases and RSV (r= -0.203, P <.05). Conclusion: Online searches for the term toothache increased during COVID-19 pandemic in Türkiye. Understanding the search trends in online media is critical to determine the interests and needs of the people regarding diseases and to provide the necessary information.