Dental pain, parental SARS-CoV-2 fear and distress on quality of life of 2 to 6 year-old children during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has crippled life, families and oral healthcare delivery in India due to nationwide lockdown. AIM: Through cross-sectional design, we investigated the impact of child's dental pain, caregiver's fear of SARS-CoV-2 and parental distress on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) of preschoolers during the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. DESIGN: Preschool children self-reported their pain using Pieces of Hurt scale; caregiver SARS-CoV-2 fear was assessed using Fear of COVID-19 scale and parental distress evaluated using 4-item scale. Child's oral health was assessed using the dmft index and OHRQOL evaluated using early childhood oral health impact scale. Bivariate, multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors; statistical significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: Sample mean age was 4.58 years, and about 69% were boys. Children reporting higher pain scores (OR = 1.9) due to decayed teeth and having dmft > 5 (OR = 4.25), followed by greater parental distress (OR = 4.13) and fear of SARS-CoV-2 (OR = 3.84), were significantly associated with poor OHRQOL during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Greater parental distress and fear of COVID-19 among caregivers, higher self-perceived dental pain among children and caries experience are associated with poor OHRQOL of preschool children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cephalometrics of Libyan adults.

BACKGROUND: Cephalometric radiography enables a physician to identify specific areas of craniofacial disproportionality and decide on a treatment plan. Cephalometric analysis is a method for localizeing malocclusion with the facial skeleton and soft tissue structures. This study reports the results from the cephalometric analysis of Libyan adults, as a surrogate for the population of North Africa. METHODS: Lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken of 100 non-growing Libyan adults: 74 males and 26 females, aged 17-45 years. All subjects had no previous orthodontic treatment. The mean values and standard deviations of 92 parameters were determined. RESULTS: The hard tissue cephalometric analysis revealed lower variability in the length of vertical distances compared to those extending more horizontally. In adult Libyans, linear and angular midface measurements (hard tissue and soft tissue) exhibit less variability compared to other measurements taken. Libyans exhibit some of the structural deviations from Bolton's means that were previously found in Americans of African descent. Namely, they are characterized by the greater development of the maxillomandibular complex and by the presence of dentoalveolar protrusion, which must be taken into account when treating patients of this ethnic group. CONCLUSION: The current study once again confirmed the need to develop cephalometric norms for different ethnic groups, the Arab population in North Africa in particular.

Impact of pain, psychological-distress, SARS-CoV2 fear on adults' OHRQOL during COVID-19 pandemic.

Corona virus disease (COVID-19) has crippled life, families and oral health care delivery. Hence, we assessed the impact of dental pain, fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress during lockdown on the oral health related quality of life of individuals visiting a tertiary dental care center during COVID-19 pandemic. Cross sectional study conducted among patients between 18 and 60 years. Demographics, access to pain killers, dental care (yes/no), duration ( 15 days) and intensity of pain were self reported. Fear of COVID-19 was assessed using fear of corona virus scale (FCV-19S); psychological distress in the last 30 days and oral health related quality of life was evaluated. Oral examination was performed and dental caries status (DMFT) was assessed using the world health organization method. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was conducted to evaluate significant predictors and 5% was set as level of significance. 2966 patients visited our dental emergency due to painful decayed tooth between March-June 2020. Mean age was 42.7 years, 53.97% were males and most common cause of painful teeth was upper right third molar (7.7%). 73.4% reported lack of pain medication; 95% reported closure of dental clinics close to home. Almost 79% suffered from dental pain for >15 days. Higher self reported pain (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.36-14.71), >15 days of suffering from pain (OR 6.8; 95% CI 2.18-23.14), greater fear of COVID-19 (OR 4.14; 95% CI 1.98-16.07) and psychological distress (OR 4.41; 95% CI 1.09-16.76) were associated with poorer OHRQOL of adults during COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings strongly suggest that COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts the mental and oral health of individuals affecting their overall health.