Prevalence of anxiety, sleep bruxism and temporomandibular disorders during COVID-19 in Qatari children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study

PURPOSE: Understanding the impact of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic social restrictions on the lives of children and adolescents is of utmost importance to enable timely diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of anxiety, sleep bruxism, temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and change in dietary and brushing habits and their association with COVID-19 social restrictions. METHODS: Parents of fit and healthy Qatari children and adolescents were recruited and interviewed by the research team, whereby validated questioners were used to assess the prevalence of children’s/adolescents’ anxiety, sleep bruxism and TMD. Furthermore, changes in dietary and brushing habits were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 199 parents of children and adolescents (mean age = 9.3 ± 3.2 years old) were included. Overall anxiety symptoms, sleep bruxism and TMD were evident in 29.6%, 5.7% and 23.1%, respectively. An increased consumption of food, sweets and worsening of brushing habits were evident in 51.8%, 62.8% and 31.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, pandemic-related social restrictions could result in elevated levels of anxiety, specifically, social phobia, amongst children and adolescents, which could inevitably lead to unwanted dental consequences.