Together with the presence of emotional transmission of dental fear among family members, we identified the relevant role that fathers play as regards the transfer of dental fear from parents to children.

Introduction The objective of this research is to describe how perceived infectability, germ aversion, and fear of COVID-19 in adults in Madrid have changed from the beginning of the pandemic until the lockdown exit phase and their influence on dental care behaviour. Materials and Methods Some 961 participants were monitored in a study in Madrid at 2 time points: before lockdown (T0) and after completion of the total lockdown (T1). A questionnaire that included basic sociodemographic variables, the perceived vulnerability to disease scale (including perceived infectability and germ aversion), the fear of COVID-19 scale, and dental visiting behaviour after confinement for fear of COVID was administered. Results The participants had higher scores for infectability and germ aversion at T1 than at T0 ( P < 0.01). Of those studied, 24.5% (235) of the participants would not go to the dentist for fear of COVID-19. Those who had a high perceived infectability scale score were at least 5 times more likely to not visit the dentist. Those with high COVID-19 fear were at least 6 times more likely to not visit the dentist, and those older than 60 years were 8 times more likely to not visit. Conclusions The population's high levels of vulnerability to infectability and perceived germ aversion associated with fear of COVID-19 and the resultant avoidance behaviour to dental care will remain until an effective drug or vaccine for SARS-CoV2 is found.

SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus responsible for the outbreak of the respiratory disease COVID-19, which has spread to several countries around the world, causing considerable consternation and a fear of contagions in global healthcare settings. The objective of this study is to identify, among Madrid's adult population, the impact of COVID-19 on self-perceived vulnerability, infectiousness, aversion to germs, and other behaviors in the current situation regarding dental practice. This cross-sectional observational study involves 1,008 persons randomly surveyed on the streets of Madrid, Spain between March 1 and March 8, 2020. Their perceived vulnerability to disease was measured using the perceived vulnerability to disease scale. An additional questionnaire evaluated basic sociodemographic aspects, medical history, personal hygiene behavior, willingness to go to certain places and the perception of the risk of contagion when going to a dental practice. There are significant differences by sex on the germ aversion subscale (p < 0.05) and in the risk of waiting in the waiting room (p < 0.01), tooth extraction ((p < 0.05), endodontics (p < 0.05) and fillings ((p < 0.05). Women consider the risk to be higher than men do. The risk group (over 60 and with systemic disease) has significant differences on the subscales of infectivity (p < 0.01) and germ aversion (p < 0.01). Our study shows high levels of vulnerability regarding contracting COVID-19 and avoiding dental care as perceived by the population over 60 years old and with a systemic disease.

Cognitive elements play a key role in dental anxiety. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about how dental treatments and frequency of visits to the dentist are related to dental fear and its cognitive antecedents. This study aimed to explore the relationships between dental visits, past treatment experiences, expectations on the aversiveness/probability of negative dental events, and dental fear in children. The participants were 147 children (60% female; mean age = 12.0 yr) who completed a questionnaire comprising measures of dental treatment-related experience (attendance, fillings, and extractions), perceived aversiveness and probability of dental events, and dental anxiety. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. A higher frequency of dental visits was associated with less dental fear and a decreased belief in the probability of negative events occurring during treatment. The type of treatments received was not directly linked to dental fear. However, having received fillings was significantly associated with the perceived probability of negative dental events, whereas extractions were positively associated with these expectations but negatively associated with the perceived aversiveness of possible dental events. Regular dental visits, as well as dental treatments, can influence, in different ways, cognitive elements associated with dental anxiety in children.

Background To find out whether misuse of dental hygiene, in terms of certain dental habits, may facilitate the spread of COVID-19 among cohabiting individuals. Methods 302 COVID-19 infected (PCR +) subjects cohabiting with someone else at home were selected for an observational cross-sectional study. An anonymous online questionnaire was developed using Google forms to avoid person-to-person contact. The structured questionnaire consisted of questions covering several areas: sociodemographic data, cross transmission to another person living together, oral hygiene habits during confinement, care and disinfection control behaviours in the dental environment like sharing toothbrush, sharing toothbrush container, sharing toothpaste, placing brush vertically, placing cap with hole for brush, disinfecting brush with bleach, closing toilet lid before flushing. Results Tongue brushing was more used in the group where there was no transmission of the disease to other members (p < 0.05). Significant differences were found for shared toothbrush use (p < 0.05), although shared use was a minority in this group (4. 7%), significant differences were also found for the use of the same container (p < 0.01), shared use of toothpaste (p < 0.01), toothbrush disinfection with bleach (p < 0.01), brush change after PCR + (p < 0.05). The women performed significantly more disinfection with toothbrush bleach (p < 0.01), closing the toilet lid (p < 0.05) and changing the brush after PCR + (p < 0.05). Conclusions The use of inappropriate measures in the dental environment could contribute to the indirect transmission of COVID-19 between cohabitants.

Although previous research has successfully tested the usefulness of cognitive and non-cognitive factors to predict dental anxiety, they have rarely been jointly analysed. This study therefore aimed to compare the relative predictive power of a set of cognitive and non-cognitive factors in accounting for dental anxiety scores. A sample of 167 Spanish undergraduate students (81.4% women; mean age 21.2 yr) completed a questionnaire comprising measures of dental anxiety, non-cognitive antecedents of dental anxiety (i.e. past aversive dental experiences, exposure to dentally fearful relatives, and trait-based negative mood), and cognitive variables (i.e. dental-related cognitive vulnerability, probability/aversiveness expectancies, and dental cognitions and beliefs). In multiple linear regression analyses, cognitions were found to significantly increase the proportion of variance accounted for in dental fear scores (ΔR(2) = 0.15, maximum ΔR(2) = 0.35). Cognitive factors were found to be the best individual predictors of dental fear (β-values ranging from 0.23-0.66). Furthermore, scores for past aversive treatment experiences and negative mood were not significant predictors of scores for dental anxiety when cognitive variables were included in the models. The analysis of cognitive mechanisms involved in dental anxiety is revealed as a potentially important point in better understanding this problem.

Aim To analyse the possible association between decreased physical and social activity and an increase in the use of mobile devices, internet, and social networks with increased anxiety and the appearance of oral parafunctions and bruxism for adolescents before and during COVID‐19. Design A total of 213 adolescents attended private clinics at two different times: before lockdown (T0) and after completion of total lockdown (T1). In T0 and T1, a clinical examination was carried out to assess dental wear (IA) and only in T1 were they given the self‐report questionnaire which focuses on the periods before and during lockdown (self‐reported bruxism, state anxiety, mobile phone and internet, social network use, physical and social activity, and questions on parafunctions). Results There were a decrease in physical activity at T0‐T1 and an increase in social media use, internet, state anxiety, and clinical and self‐reported bruxism at T0‐T1. There was a positive correlation between increased self‐reported bruxism, increased social media use, mobile device use, and state anxiety. Conclusions There has been a change in adolescent lifestyle during lockdown with an increase in the prevalence of oral parafunctions and bruxism. In particular, the increase in the use of social networks at night and also in anxiety levels during lockdown were associated with of the increase in self‐reported bruxism.

Anxiety plays a fundamental role in the effect of perceived dental impact on self-esteem in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. These results have important practical implications for the design of bio-psycho-social intervention programs that contemplate cognitive-affective variables as an essential part of orthodontic treatment in adults.