Preferences About Personal Protective Equipment

Children and Parents' Preferences About the Appearance of Dentists With Respect to Personal Protective Equipment in Pediatric Dentistry

Personal protective equipment (PPE) gained importance during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is a global hot topic for all healthcare staff.

To assess children and parents preferences about dentists' appearance concerning their PPE and to determine the relationship between the preferences of the children and their parents.

A total of 250 children aged with 6-12 years and their parents were enrolled in the study. Standardised pictures with different sex, attire, eye protector, hair protector, mask and gloves were shown to children and their parents separately and asked to chose their preferences. Dental anxiety of children and their parents were determined with MCDASf and MDAS, respectively. Decayed-missing-filled teeth (DMFT) index was employed to the children.

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 6-12 years and their parents,
• intellectually sufficient to complete the questionnaire,
• with voluntariness to take part in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• had mental or physical disorders, cooperation problems or dental pain