Parent perceptions regarding virtual pediatric dental clinics during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the attitudes and responses of parents of pediatric patients towards virtual dental clinics during COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A total of 102 parents of pediatric patients who were scheduled for virtual (video or telephonic) clinic appointments for new patient consultations and follow-up clinics were included in the study. Parents and patients could attend the virtual clinic from a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone. An electronic self-administered questionnaire was sent to the parents through email after consultation (video or telephonic) which consisted of demographic data and a ten-item, five-point Likert-scale assessing: (i) parent satisfaction; (ii) ease of use; (iii) the effectiveness including increasing access to clinical services; (iv) reliability of the teledentistry system and (v) usefulness for patients. Statistical analyses used were t-test, one-way ANOVA test, Shapiro–Wilk and histogram. RESULT: Out of 102 parents, 52 attended video clinics and 50 attended the telephonic clinic. The majority of the parents were between 30–39 years of age, and about 73% had no previous experience with either virtual or telephonic consultation. Ninety-four percent of parents were satisfied with vide clinic consultation, and most of them agreed that accessing clinical services through a video clinic was easy to understand, comfortable, and time-saving. The majority of the parents (94%) agreed and strongly agreed that they will use video clinics again in the future for consultation. CONCLUSION: Parents’ response to the use of virtual clinics for pediatric dentistry during COVID was positive. The majority of the parents stated that they would consider using teledentistry for future consultation.