{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,25]],"date-time":"2026-07-25T02:25:59Z","timestamp":1784946359106,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,20]],"date-time":"2022-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1666224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"King Abdulaziz University","award":["G: 95-165-1437"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G: 95-165-1437"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Background: Understanding oral health needs and barriers is important to overcome the oral disease burden, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess oral health needs and barriers among Saudi children after the COVID-19 pandemic wave started. (2) Methods: Parents of healthy children aged 3\u201311 years from five regions of Saudi Arabia were surveyed using an electronically administered validated questionnaire from Febuary-2021 to July-2021. Oral lesions\/manifestations during the last 12 months reported by parents included tooth discoloration, ulcers, abscess, swelling of the gingiva, halitosis, gingival bleeding, dry mouth, pain while eating, difficulty in speaking or eating, burning sensation, and white spots. Barriers were assessed according to the WHO Oral Health Questionnaire. (3) Results: Children experiencing toothaches were reported by 1098 (72.4%) respondents. When reported, oral manifestations and lesions were associated with a higher inability to visit a dentist (p &lt; 0.001). Barriers to dental care were more frequent among parents with lower education (p &lt; 0.001; adjusted-odds ratio (AOR), 1.815) and a greater number of children (p &lt; 0.001; AOR, 1.197). (4) Conclusion: Parents reported a high frequency of unmet oral health needs. Education could play an important role in improving oral health care in children and as a predictor of public health concerns.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph192013584","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,20]],"date-time":"2022-10-20T22:49:46Z","timestamp":1666306186000},"page":"13584","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["Oral Health Needs and Barriers among Children in Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9788-0379","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heba Jafar","family":"Sabbagh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah Abdullah","family":"Aljehani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bayan Mohammed","family":"Abdulaziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nada Zafer","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maryam Omar","family":"Bajkhaif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shatha Khalid","family":"Alrosini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3723-7795","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reham Mohammed","family":"Al-Amoudi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Dentistry Department, Taif Dental Specialty Center, Ministry of Health, Taif 26514, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3593-3025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heba Mohamed","family":"Elkhodary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Pedodontics and Oral Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine for Girls, Al Azhar University, Cairo 11651, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.15537\/smj.2015.6.10888","article-title":"Prevalence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth and its relation with tooth brushing habits among schoolchildren in Eastern Saudi Arabia","volume":"36","author":"Farooqi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Saudi Med. 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