Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of COVID-19-induced household economic deterioration on gingival pain and bleeding. Methods: Data from the 16th Adolescent Health Behavior Survey 2020 were used. A total of 57,925 adolescents were included in this cross-sectional study. We evaluated the worsening of the COVID-19-induced household economic situation, gingival pain, and bleeding. All surveys were assessed in a subjective non-face-to-face online interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression. Results: The overall prevalence of gingival pain and bleeding symptoms in the study population was 19.2%. People with COVID-19 were more likely to suffer from gingival pain and gingival bleeding than those who did not have economic deterioration due to COVID-19. There was no economic deterioration due to COVID-19 (aOR=1.048, 95% CI=1.034-1.227) and worsened very much (aOR=1.358, 95% CI=1.164-1.585). Conclusions: There were more cases of gingival pain and gingival bleeding, which are early symptoms of periodontal disease, in patients with COVID-19 compared to cases without deterioration of the household economic situation due to COVID-19. It is necessary to measure and study gingival bleeding objectively rather than relying on self-reports.
Figures & Tables
Table 1. General characteristics
