Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global health issue and has had a major impact on education. Consequently, half way through the second semester of the academic year 2019/2020, learning methods were delivered through distance learning (DL). We aimed to evaluate the student perspective of DL compared to classroom learning (CL) in the undergraduate dentistry study program at the Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia. Methods: An online questionnaire was sent at the end of the semester. A total of 301 students participated in the study. Results: Duration of study influenced student preference. Higher number of first-year students preferred DL compared to their seniors (p < 0.001). Students preferred CL for group discussion, as DL resulted in more difficult communication and gave less learning satisfaction. Only 44.2% students preferred DL over CL, although they agreed that DL gave a more efficient learning method (52.6%), it provided more time to study (87.9%) and to review study materials (87.3%). Challenges during DL included external factors such as unstable internet connection, extra financial burden for the internet quota and internal factors such as time management and difficulty to focus while learning online for a longer period of time. Conclusion: Despite some challenges, dental students could adapt to the new learning methods of full DL and the majorities agreed blended learning that combined classroom and distance learning can be implemented henceforth. This current COVID-19 pandemic, changes not only the utilization of technology in education but the pedagogy strategies in the future.

COVID-19 pandemic led to major life changes. We assessed the psychological impact of COVID-19 on dental academics globally and on changes in their behaviors. We invited dental academics to complete a cross-sectional, online survey from March to May 2020. The survey was based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The survey collected data on participants’ stress levels (using the Impact of Event Scale), attitude (fears, and worries because of COVID-19 extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), perceived control (resulting from training on public health emergencies), norms (country-level COVID-19 fatality rate), and personal and professional backgrounds. We used multilevel regression models to assess the association between the study outcome variables (frequent handwashing and avoidance of crowded places) and explanatory variables (stress, attitude, perceived control and norms). 1862 academics from 28 countries participated in the survey (response rate = 11.3%). Of those, 53.4% were female, 32.9% were <46 years old and 9.9% had severe stress. PCA extracted three main factors: fear of infection, worries because of professional responsibilities, and worries because of restricted mobility. These factors had significant dose-dependent association with stress and were significantly associated with more frequent handwashing by dental academics (B = 0.56, 0.33, and 0.34) and avoiding crowded places (B = 0.55, 0.30, and 0.28). Low country fatality rates were significantly associated with more handwashing (B = -2.82) and avoiding crowded places (B = -6.61). Training on public health emergencies was not significantly associated with behavior change (B = -0.01 and -0.11). COVID-19 had a considerable psychological impact on dental academics. There was a direct, dose-dependent association between change in behaviors and worries but no association between these changes and training on public health emergencies. More change in behaviors was associated with lower country COVID-19 fatality rates. Fears and stresses were associated with greater adoption of preventive measures against the pandemic.

Previous surveys have indicated that a majority of Indonesian children have poor oral health. However, little detailed information is available on underlying causation and none that examine impacts of oral health on child self-esteem, school performance and perceived employability. The aim of this study was to determine levels of child oral health in primary school children in Indonesia, the prevalence of key causal factors; and, to determine relationships between oral health, self-esteem and school academic performance. Cross-sectional epidemiological study in a sample (n = 984) of children aged 6–7 and 10–11 years old attending three public schools in Indonesia. A dental visual impact study was conducted, in which teachers reported their perceptions of the impact of child oral health on school academic performance. Oral health behaviors, self-esteem, and school performance were assessed. The children were clinically examined to measure dental caries and oral cleanliness. Teachers believe that children with visually poor oral health and impaired smiles are more likely to perform poorly at school, be socially excluded and have lower job prospects than their peers with visually good oral health and healthy smiles. The percentages of children with decayed teeth were 94 and 90% in the 6-7- and 10–11-year age groups, respectively. Families reported high levels of child consumption of sugar-containing foods and drinks; many had irregular use of fluoride toothpaste. Children with substantial plaque on their teeth achieved significantly lower levels of school performance than their peers with clean teeth. Significant associations were found between school performance and self-esteem for these children. The study findings highlight the need for preventive care programs to improve the oral health of children in Indonesia and prospective determination of associations between child oral health; self-esteem and school academic performance.

Teledentistry is the use of information and communication technology to provide dental services from distant locations. The use of teledentistry is highly beneficial in the COVID-19 pandemic era. This study aimed to explore Indonesian dentists’ perceptions of the use of teledentistry in their daily practice and the benefits for patients. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study comprising an electronic survey of Indonesian dentists. We used a cross-cultural, adapted questionnaire that consisted of 26 items and 5-point Likert scale questions that evaluated dentist perception in the following 4 domains: usefulness of teledentistry for dental practice, usefulness of teledentistry to improve practices, usefulness of teledentistry for patients, and dentists who had concerns about the use of teledentistry. A total of 652 dentists from 34 provinces in Indonesia participated in this study. The majority of respondents agreed about the usefulness of teledentistry in dental practice, especially for saving time, compared to referral letters (87%). Most respondents recognised the utility of teledentistry for improving dental practice and its benefits for patients. Nevertheless, most of the dentists had concerns about teledentistry in terms of digital forgery concern (74.2%) and technical incompatibility (71.8%). Indonesian dentists reported their positive perception of the usefulness of teledentistry for improving dental practice and benefits for patients, although some concerns were still present. Further studies on the application of teledentistry in Indonesia are still needed.

Background: Indonesia has the largest population of all countries in southeast Asia. However, little information is available on the oral health status of Indonesian children. The aims of this study were to assess dental caries and erosive tooth wear in 12-year-old children in Jakarta, Indonesia and to investigate the associated risk factors. Methods: Samples were selected using cluster sampling. Parents were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire regarding their oral health knowledge, demographic information, their child’s dietary habits, and oral health-related behaviors. Experience of caries and erosive tooth wear were recorded using the Decayed, Missing (due to caries), and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index, respectively. Results: Of 779 children invited, 696 participated in the survey. Of these, 61% had experienced caries, and the mean DMFT score was 1.58. Almost all decay was untreated. Children who were female, who had a high frequency of soft drink intake, and whose father’s educational level was low were more likely to have dental caries. Most children had at least one lesion of erosive tooth wear. Children whose mother’s educational level was low were more likely to have erosive tooth wear. Conclusions: The prevalence of dental caries and erosive tooth wear was high in 12-year-old children in Jakarta. Their dietary habits and parental level of education were associated with the presence of these dental conditions.

Halitosis is a common condition that adversely affects quality of life. Through YouTube, people access oral health information. This study aimed to analyze the quality and comprehensiveness of the content, and reliability of halitosis videos hosted on YouTube. In total, 300 videos were collected based on three search keywords, and the number of likes, dislikes, views, duration, interaction index, viewing rate, and source category. Subsequently, the video score, which represents the content quality and comprehensiveness was used to categorize videos as poor, good, and excellent. DISCERN score was used to assess video reliability. Of the 105 videos analyzed, 68 (64.8%) were uploaded by personal users. In general, videos were categorized as poor and have low reliability. Videos sourced from healthcare professionals showed the highest quality, comprehensiveness of the content, and reliability (p < 0.05). There was no difference in the number of viewers for video duration less than or more than 4 min (p > 0.05). YouTube users prefer low-quality videos over high-quality ones, indicating that viewers cannot differentiate between reliable and potentially biased content. It is critical to enable viewers to critically assimilate information hosted on YouTube to make effective oral healthcare decisions.