Journal article
Children's oral health and oral health care use during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Journal of the American Dental Association (1939), Vol.154(10), pp.930-936.e7
10/2023
DOI: 10.1016/j.adaj.2023.07.011
PMID: 37642615
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with declines in children's oral health and oral health care use in 2020. The authors examined the pandemic effects on these outcomes into 2021. METHODS This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of Children's Health from 2017 through 2021. The authors compared parent's or caregiver's perceptions of the child's oral health and reported dental problems and dental visits across years, adjusting for child and household covariates and state of residence. The authors evaluated potential heterogeneity across demographic and socioeconomic subgroups. RESULTS In 2021, parents and caregivers were still more likely to perceive children's oral health as poor (odds ratio [OR], 1.90; 95% CI, 1.28 to 2.82) and less likely to report very good or excellent oral health (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.92) than in 2019, similar to differences between 2020 and 2019. Dental visits were also less likely in 2021 than 2019 (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.83). These differences between 2021 and 2019 were not explained by prepandemic trends and were observed across a range of demographic and socioeconomic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Children's oral health as perceived by parents and caregivers and oral health care use were still worse in 2021 than before the pandemic both overall and across demographic and socioeconomic subgroups. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The persistent adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's oral health as perceived by parents and caregivers and shown through dental visits highlight the need to improve oral health care access and use and to evaluate the long-term effects of the pandemic on children's oral health.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Children's oral health and oral health care use during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Creators
- Wei LyuGeorge L Wehby
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of the American Dental Association (1939), Vol.154(10), pp.930-936.e7
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.adaj.2023.07.011
- PMID
- 37642615
- ISSN
- 0002-8177
- eISSN
- 1943-4723
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 08/28/2023
- Date published
- 10/2023
- Academic Unit
- Preventive and Community Dentistry; Health Management and Policy; Economics; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9984459412402771
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