Assessment of the Fear and Anxiety of Children Referred to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim:This study aimed to compare the dental fear and anxiety of dental patients aged 6-12 years before and during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Materials and Methods:The first phase of the study was conducted on Group 1 (n=350) before the pandemic and the second phase was conducted on Group 2 (n=350) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dental anxiety and fear were assessed using 4 scales: the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS), the modified child dental anxiety scale, the dental subscale of the children’s fear survey schedule (CFSS-DS), and the dental fear scale (DFS). In the second phase, participants also filled out a questionnaire related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 25 (IBM, Armonk, New York).Results:There were no significant differences between the two groups based on their socio-demographic variables (p>0.05). Scores during the pandemic decreased significantly for the MDAS, CFFS-DS and DFS (p=0.002, p=0.002, p=0.010, respectively). In Group 2, 2% of participants reported that their anxiety increased because of the changes in the dentists’ personal protective equipment and 30.9% reported that they were anxious about COVID-19 transmission.Conclusion:In this study, pediatric dental patients' dental fear and anxiety decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal protective equipment did not affect pediatric dental patients' dental fear and anxiety.