Parental knowledge, attitude, and perception toward dental treatment during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Dental caries in pediatric dentistry is considered very alarming to parents considering its impact on the permanent dentition. Knowledge regarding caries in primary teeth and its impact on permanent dentition is limited. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the knowledge and perception of parents toward pediatric dental treatment during covid era and to check if there is a change in practices pertaining to the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and Methodology: One hundred and twenty copies of the questionnaire were distributed through a Google Form to parents in the general Indian population. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions. The first segment of the survey was about the knowledge of parents regarding caries and their consequences. The second segment was about the influence of COVID on the dental treatment of children. The third segment was about the influence of COVID on the preventive dental care of children. The results obtained were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Results suggest that 80%–95% of parents have good knowledge about tooth decay in the pediatric population and feel COVID is a barrier to visiting the dentist and feel the availability of the COVID vaccine to children would increase confidence to break this barrier. Conclusions: COVID pandemic has been a barricade for neglecting dental treatment. If adequate information about the etiology and consequences of tooth decay along with the availability of the COVID vaccine, no barrier can be seen between the dentist and the child's dental treatment.