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Association of Covid-19-Imposed Lockdown and Online Searches for Toothache in Iran Publisher Pubmed



Sofimahmudi A1 ; Shamsoddin E1 ; Ghasemi P2 ; Mehrabi Bahar A3 ; Shaban Azad M4 ; Sadeghi G5
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Cochrane Iran Associate Centre, National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD), West Fatemi St., Tehran, 1419693111, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Health Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shahid Chamran Heart Educational, Medical and Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
  5. 5. Bureau of Dentistry, Vice Chancellery for Treatment, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

Source: BMC Oral Health Published:2021


Abstract

Background: Novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has impacted populations in many ways worldwide, including access to oral health services. This study aims to assess the association between lockdown due to COVID-19 and online searches for toothache in Iran using Google Trends (GT). Methods: We investigated GT online searches for toothache within the past five years. The time frame for data gathering was considered as the initiation and end dates of the national lockdown in Iran. We performed one-way ANOVA statistical test to compare relative search volumes (RSVs) between the year 2020 and 2016–2019 for the whole country. Then we investigated the possible association of RSVs in provinces with dentists’ density, prevalence of current daily smokers, Human Development Index (HDI), Internet access, and fluoride concentration in water using linear regression. Results: When comparing 2020 with the previous four years, there was a rise of 2020 RSVs versus all previous years combined and each year (P < 0.001 for all of them). In the linear model for the year 2020, HDI (B = − 3.29, 95% CI: (− 5.80, − 0.78), P = 0.012) had a strong negative relationship with provincial RSVs. HDI mostly had strong positive relationship with provincial RSVs in prior years. Fluoride concentration (B = − 0.13, 95% CI: (− 0.24, − 0.03), P = 0.017) and dentists’ density (B = − 0.04, 95% CI: (− 0.25, 0.17), P = 0.669) were also negatively associated with RSVs in 2020. These associations were mostly negative in the previous years as well. Internet access (B = 0.36, 95% CI: (− 0.38, 1.09), P = 0.325) and prevalence of daily smokers (B = 0.33, 95% CI: (0.13, 0.53), P = 0.002) were positively associated with RSVs. Conclusion: The RSVs for toothache in 2020 have increased due to COVID-19-imposed lockdown compared with the same period in the past four years. This increase was related to socioeconomic factors. © 2021, The Author(s).
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