276 - Children’s Perspective of Personal Protective Equipment Before and After COVID-19

Children’s perspective of personal protective equipment before and after COVID-19, Betancourt, ME, Garcia, MM, (University of Texas —San Antonio, San Antonio, TX)

Purpose: To determine whether or not children have a negative association with the PPE protocols that were enacted during COVID-19 as opposed to being able to see the facial expressions of the dental professionals they will encounter. 

Methods: We will be conducting a survey of 100-200 children that will determine if the perception of dentists has changed through the COVID-19 pandemic. The children will be put into two groups; group 1 ages 7-10 years old and group 2 ages 11-14 years old. Each participant that comes into the Laredo Dental clinic for a recall will be given a survey that contains two questions. The first question will ask about previous perceptions of dentists. The second question will contain two photographs. Each photograph will have a smiley face scale beneath it. One of the pictures will be a dentist in PPE that was donned pre-COVID-19. The second picture will be of a dentist in the updated COVID-19 PPE recommendations from the ADA. The study will then use a smiley face scale to measure the children's perception of the PPE requirements. Children will also be given a questionnaire that asks about their perceptions of dentists and dental experiences. The information gathered will then be used to determine whether or not the COVID-19 PPE guidelines have any influence on children’s perception of dentists. Results will then be calculated using percentages. The results will then be analyzed on a descriptive basis.

Results: Results pending, survey period still in progress.