Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI)
Iran University of Medical Sciences
Wed, Jan 15, 2025
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Volume 37, Issue 1 (2-2023)
Med J Islam Repub Iran 2023 |
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Sofi-Mahmudi A, Shamsoddin E, Ghasemi P, Nasser M, Mesgarpour B. Assessing Google Searches for Toothache during COVID-19 Lockdowns. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2023; 37 (1) :282-293
URL: http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-7596-en.html
URL: http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-7596-en.html
Cochrane Iran Associate Centre, National Institute for Medical Research Development, Tehran, Iran , shamsoddin@research.ac.ir
Abstract: (893 Views)
Background: Lockdowns due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced many dental offices to be closed. This study aims to investigate the association between COVID-19 imposed lockdowns and online searches for toothache using Google Trends (GT).
Methods: We investigated GT online searches for the term “toothache” within the past 5 years. The time frame for data gathering was considered as the initiation and end dates of national/regional lockdowns in each country. We used 1-way analysis of variance to identify statistical differences in relative search volumes (RSVs) between 2020 and 2016-2019 for each country.
Results: Overall, 16 countries were included in our analyses. Among all countries, Indonesia (n = 100), Jamaica (n = 56), Philippines (n = 56), Iran (n = 52), and Turkey (47) had the highest RSVs for toothache in the specified period. Compared with the previous 4 years, higher RSVs were seen in the world (as a whole) (2020 RSVs, 94.4; vs 2019 RSVs, 77.8 [P < 0.001]) and 13 countries (81.3% of the included countries).
Conclusion: Generally, searching for the term “toothache” showed an increase during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 compared with the past 4 years. This can imply the importance of dental care as urgent medical care during public health emergencies such as COVID-19.
Methods: We investigated GT online searches for the term “toothache” within the past 5 years. The time frame for data gathering was considered as the initiation and end dates of national/regional lockdowns in each country. We used 1-way analysis of variance to identify statistical differences in relative search volumes (RSVs) between 2020 and 2016-2019 for each country.
Results: Overall, 16 countries were included in our analyses. Among all countries, Indonesia (n = 100), Jamaica (n = 56), Philippines (n = 56), Iran (n = 52), and Turkey (47) had the highest RSVs for toothache in the specified period. Compared with the previous 4 years, higher RSVs were seen in the world (as a whole) (2020 RSVs, 94.4; vs 2019 RSVs, 77.8 [P < 0.001]) and 13 countries (81.3% of the included countries).
Conclusion: Generally, searching for the term “toothache” showed an increase during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 compared with the past 4 years. This can imply the importance of dental care as urgent medical care during public health emergencies such as COVID-19.
Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Dentistry
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