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Background: Previous studies have highlighted the relationship between sleep disorders in children and their oral health. Increased hours of screen time has shown to impact various aspects of child’s health, including oral health and general health. This happens through screen time’s effect on children’s sleep pattern, diet, psychology, anxiety, and physical activity level. Using electronic devices for excessive amount of time can directly and indirectly affect child’s sleep quantity and quality. Long hours of online schooling, playing video games and watching TV during global Pandemic can change children’s sleep pattern via changing their sleep hormone and anxiety level.
Purpose: The purpose is to determine the effects of screen time before and during COVID 19 pandemic on oral health of 4-18 years old children.
Methods: In this study a subset sample of 150 parents of child participants aged 4-18 years from an ongoing study on sleep and breathing patterns in childhood will be selected. After obtaining parents’ consent, phone interviews will be conducted using a questionnaire. The questionnaire includes questions regarding children’s average daily screen time, oral hygiene habits, and diet before and during the COVID 19 Pandemic. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analysis will be conducted to evaluate the effects of screen time on children’s oral health and dietary habits.
Results: Pending