Determinants of Dental Pain in a Rural Area of Indonesia during the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: To assess the prevalence and the association between dental pain and sociodemographic characteristics, oral health behavior, and coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) responses in a rural area of Indonesia during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study randomly selected 296 participants aged 17 years and older in Kalisat, Jember, Indonesia. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to measure the variable of interest. The dental pain as an outcome variable was based on the dental pain experience from the past 2 months. A logistic regression model of 12 independent variables, including sex, age, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, insurance, toothbrush frequency, snacking, fear of COVID-19, government aids, and vaccination status, was applied to find the determinants of dental pain. Results: In the second wave of the pandemic, 25.3% of the participants reported dental pain. The increasing level of fear was significantly related to having more experience with dental pain. The most significant predictor of dental pain was having an “often” fear of COVID-19 (odds ratio, OR = 5.23; P = 0.004). The older age groups were more likely to report dental pain than the 17–25 age group, and the most significant association was 56–65 years (OR = 5.26; P = 0.015). Conclusions: The oral health programs should consider the psychological factors and pay attention to the older age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.