The Effect of Quarantine During the COVID-19 Pandemic on The Oral Health Habits of the Syrian Community
Abstract Introduction: Corona Virus appeared at the end of 2019. It belongs to a large family of viruses that can cause respiratory infections. Due to its ability to spread rapidly and easily, it has become a pandemic throughout almost the entire world. This has necessitated the establishment of quarantine procedures in order to reduce the rate of spread of the virus and thus the number of deaths. However, these procedures may cause a range of effects on people. One of the most important aspects that can be affected is oral health care. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of quarantine procedures on the oral health habits of the Syrian community.Materials and methods:A survey was created using Google Forms and published on Facebook from 16 April 2020 until 11 May 2020. The number of people corresponding to the study criteria in Syria reached 1033. The survey looked at the effect of quarantine procedures on changing oral health habits, including the number of times of brushing and the time of brushing.Results: Quarantine led to a change in oral health habits in 57.4% of the sample. Females were significantly more affected by changing habits during quarantine (P=0.020). The number of brushing times was not clearly affected and it was twice daily (49.4% before quarantine, 42.1% during quarantine). There was no statistically significant difference between the two periods in terms of the number of times of brushing.Conclusion: This study is the first study that showed the effect of home quarantine on the oral habits of members of the Syrian community. Home quarantine did not significantly affect the oral health habits of Syrians.