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.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Non-Interventional Research Ethics Committee of Biruni University issued approval 2021/60-10. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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