Feedback of Patients Regarding Orthodontic Treatment During the COVID-۱۹ Pandemic on Twitter: a Qualitative Study

Aim: This study aimed to assess the feedback of patients regarding orthodontic treatment during the coronavirus pandemic of ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹).Methods: In this observational study, keywords related to orthodontic treatment along with either “corona” or “COVID” were searched in Twitter during a two-month period from ۲ October ۲۰۲۰ to ۱۲ October ۲۰۲۱. The retrieved tweets were categorized into five themes of pain, getting braces, limitations due to COVID-۱۹, seeking information, and delayed treatment based on content, and were then manually categorized into three groups of positive, neutral, and negative tweets. Next, a coding system was designed by the software MAXQDA, and the tweets were coded. Data were analyzed by the analysis feature of MAXQDA.Results: Of a total of ۴۲۴ tweets retrieved, ۹۵ were excluded. The majority of the tweets were about limitations due to COVID-۱۹ (n=۱۵۶) and were negative (n=۲۱۳). Also, the majority of the tweets were posted by female users (۶۷.۵%). The most common reason for the negative tweets of patients was delayed treatment (۴۳.۹%). Also, poor performance of orthodontic clinics and orthodontists with regard to informing and reassuring the patients about protective measures was another reason for the negative tweets of patients (۱۲.۵%).Conclusion: Delayed treatment was the most common cause of patient dissatisfaction followed by poor awareness and reassurance of patients regarding adherence to the preventive measures and hygienic protocols during the COVID-۱۹ pandemic.

Keywords:

Behavioral Science , COVID-۱۹ , Orthodontics , Practice Management