Observational studyBMC oral health2026
Effects of the pandemic and economic crisis on public search trends related to oral and maxillofacial surgery in Türkiye: a Google Trends time-series analysis (2020-2025).
Observational study in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLarge-scale societal disruptions, including pandemics and economic crises, profoundly influence healthcare-seeking behavior. Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) comprises both essential and elective procedures and is therefore particularly sensitive to external pressures. This study investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn affected public interest in OMS-related procedures in Türkiye via Google Trends.
methodsThis observational digital epidemiology time series study analyzed weekly relative search volume (RSV) data for four OMS-related keywords (“wisdom tooth extraction,” “oral surgery,” “implant,” and “jaw surgery”) retrieved from Google Trends between January 2020 and June 2025. Societal periods were categorized as pandemic restrictions/recovery, transition/normalization buffers, economic downturns, and extended follow-up periods. Data normality was assessed via the Shapiro–Wilk test. Between-period comparisons were conducted via the Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s post hoc pairwise comparisons (Holm–Bonferroni adjustment). Temporal changes were evaluated using segmented regression (interrupted time series analysis), enabling the assessment of level and trend changes across predefined societal periods with robust Newey–West standard errors.
resultsInterest in “wisdom tooth extraction” and “oral surgery” increased significantly during the postpandemic recovery period (p < 0.05), which is consistent with the rebound demand for deferred essential care. In contrast, interest in “implant” and “jaw surgery” declined significantly during the economic downturn (p < 0.01), indicating reduced public attention to high-cost elective procedures due to financial constraints.
conclusionsPublic online interest in OMS procedures in Türkiye was shaped differently by pandemic-related service disruptions and subsequent economic pressures. Google Trends appears to be a valuable complementary tool for monitoring population-level shifts in healthcare interest and may support proactive clinical planning and health policy decision making during periods of societal instability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.