Evaluation of Parents' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Self-medication for Their Children's Dental Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Cross-sectional Survey

Overview

Journal BMC Oral Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Dentistry

Date 2021 Mar 6

PMID 33673839

Citations 14

Authors

Emine Sen Tunc

Emre Aksoy

Hatice Nilden Arslan

Zeynep Kaya

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Self-medication refers to taking medicine without consultation with a doctor or dentist, and it is an important health issue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no data about parents' SM practices for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Turkey.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the pediatric dental clinic at Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown ended. A total of 389 parents who agreed to participate in the study completed the questionnaire from July 1 to October 1. A questionnaire with 18 items was designed to collect information on the parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding when, why, and how to use drugs and on their practices on medicating their children. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (chi-square test).

Results: The majority of parents (n = 273; 70.2%) practiced self-medication for their children's dental problems. Self-medication with a previously prescribed medications was usually preferred by parents (n = 179; 62.2%). Analgesics (98%) were the most commonly used medicines by parents in their self-medication for their children's dental problems.

Conclusion: Prevalence of self-medication practices for children's dental problems is high in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, new healthcare services, such as teledentistry, may be useful to overcome problems related to the self-medication of children during times when the ability to reach healthcare providers is limited, such as during pandemics.

Citing Articles

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Prevalence and causes of self-medication for oral health problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Katebi K, Eslami H, Jabbari S BMC Oral Health. 2024; 24(1):1115.

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Patterns of self-medication and intention to seek pharmacist guidance among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Macao: a cross-sectional study.

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Parent's Attitudes toward Their Children's Oral Health Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Zarabadipour M, Mokhlesi A, Poorsoleiman T, Mirzadeh M Int J Dent. 2023; 2023:7340105.

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