Objective: To Promote telemonitoring of the oral health of people with Parkinson disease in times of Covid-19.

Background: Among the most affected population by Covid-19 are the elders and among these, there are those who have Parkinson disease (PD) which is considered the second neurodegenerative most prevalent disease¹, characterized by the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the black substance, resulting in the presence of frequent motor disturbances ². Covid-19 pandemic created new challenges to ensure health. However, the possibility of using systems and methodologies of telehealth in Odontology, may improve the quality and efficiency of oral health care³.

Method: It is an analytic, quantitative, cross-sectional study, developed between August /2020 and January 2021, which used the virtual meeting tool, google meet. The sample was composed by 154 parkinsonians, who were part of the Extension Program Pro-Parkinson of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife-Pe, Brazil, who had access to a cellular phone or a computer with internet connection, the ones who had poor hearing or speaking problems were excluded. Social demographic information was collected, time of sickness, if he/she had Covid-19 or not and information regarding the oral health condition sand daily practices of oral hygiene. The analysis was done by frequency count.

Results: After the application of the eligibility criteria, there were 64 parkinsonians with average age of 66 years old, 59.38% male, with average disease time of ten years. 6.25% were contaminated by covid-19. From these, 48.44% affirmed that they made the hygiene of the oral cavity 3 times a day, using the toothbrush and the toothpaste to clean teeth and dental prosthesis. 64.06% use dental prosthesis, the superior and inferior removable partial prosthesis are the most prevalent kinds with 29.27%. There was low prevalence of complaints regarding chewing, but 45.31% needed an appointment with the dentist during the pandemic. From these, only 27.59% were able to have it.

Conclusion: It was verified that parkinsonians are worried about covid-19, complying with social distancing. That telemonitoring was important to reinforce the oral and prosthesis hygiene guidances, trying to prevent oral diseases and to minimize the need of dental appointments during the pandemic.

References: 1. MONTEIRO, D.; CORIOLANO, M. G. W. S.; BELO, L. R.; LINS, O. G. The relationship between dysphagia and clinical types in Parkinson’s disease. Revista CEFAC, Campinas, v. 16, n. 2, p. 620-627, 2014. 2. CABREIRA, V.; MASSANO, J. Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Review and Update. Acta Médica Portuguesa, [S.L.], v. 32, n. 10, p. 661-670, 2019. 3. GIUDICE, A.; BARONE, S.; MURACA, D.; AVERTA, F.; DIODATI, F.; ANTONELLI, A.; FORTUNATO, L. Can Teledentistry Improve the Monitoring of Patients during the Covid-19 Dissemination? A Descriptive Pilot Study. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, [S.L.], v. 17, n. 10, p. 1-9, 2020.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/telemonitoring-of-the-oral-health-of-parkinsonians-during-the-new-coronavirus-pandemic/