Evaluation of the Awareness and Anxiety Levels and Oral Hygiene Habits of University Students During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness and anxiety levels and oral hygiene habits of university students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total number of 560 university students were included at different education levels. Sociodemographic data regarding age, gender, current school level, family income, and smoking frequency status were obtained. Anxiety levels were evaluated through the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale and awareness levels through the Coronavirus Awareness Scale. Oral hygiene habits before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were also recorded. In addition, the participants were asked to evaluate their oral hygiene and general health status before and after the pandemic. Data were collected online using a data collection form consisting of five sections via the Google Forms (Google Inc., Mountain View, California, United States) platform. The data were statistically analyzed. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.  Results: The statistical analysis revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in COVID-19 anxiety levels according to the current school level and family income (all with p<0.05). COVID-19 awareness levels differed significantly according to the current school level and family income (all with p<0.05). A statistically significant discrepancy was identified in the oral hygiene habits of the examined population according to gender, smoking frequency status, and family income prior to the onset of the pandemic (all with p<0.05). The examination of oral hygiene habits during the pandemic revealed statistically significant differences in accordance with the subjects' gender, smoking frequency status, current school level, and family income (all with p<0.05). During the pandemic, there was an increase in the frequency of tooth brushing, tongue brushing, toothbrush change, dental floss use, and acidic beverage consumption compared to the pre-pandemic period (all with p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The present study examined the impact of the ongoing pandemic on oral hygiene habits among university students. The findings revealed a notable increase in the frequency of many oral hygiene habits during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, the study also observed that while anxiety levels were low, awareness levels were high. This study is the first to evaluate awareness and anxiety levels and oral hygiene habits in this context.