Participants
Participants completed an anonymous web-based survey from March 24 to
May 3, 2020, after agreeing to an electronic informed consent request.
The survey took 20 min to complete. A total of 500 participants
recruited from the university of …… (Italy) (pre-graduate
students from School of Medicine), with a mean age of 22.84 ± 2.68 years
(range 19–24 years), completed the survey. Two hundred students
belonged to the schools of dental hygiene and dentistry, and the
remaining 300 belonged to the school of medicine. None of the
participants reported any symptoms of COVID-19.
Questionnaire . A 34-question, multiple-choice
questionnaire was prepared. After providing informed consent, the
participants completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of
four sections concerning demographic information, changes in diet,
physical activity and sleep during quarantine, ways of coping with the
lockdown, and changes in personal and dental hygiene behaviors during
quarantine. This analysis focused on dental hygiene habits. The
questions explored the frequency of tooth brushing, frequency of use of
oral mouthwash, type of mouthwash, toothpaste, and toothbrush used
before and during quarantine (that is, “how many times a day did you
brush your teeth before quarantine?” and “how many times a day did you
brush your teeth during quarantine?”).
We also asked about self-perception of stress, fear, stigma, and
anxiety. Eating for coping and drinking for coping were also
investigated.