frequency of asymptomatic covid-19 children and related oral manifestations in 4-12-year-old pediatric dental patients

Background: this study aimed to assess the frequency of asymptomatic coronavirus disease-2019 (covid-19) carriers and related oral manifestations in child dental patients.methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 215 asymptomatic pediatric dental patients aged 4-12 years. clinical examination was performed by one calibrated examiner to determine oral signs and symptoms between october 2021 to july 2022. after completing clinical examination, the participants underwent a covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (pcr) test. data were analyzed by chi-square, t- test, and fisher’s exact test (α<0.05).results: the mean age of the patients was 7.71±1.74 years; 102 (47.4%) were males and 113 (56.6%) were females. thirty-two patients (14.9%) had a positive pcr result for covid-19. out of 32 positive subjects, 7(3.3%) had oral lesions including aphthous and herpetic ulcers. impairment in the sense of taste was not observed in any of the patients. association between oral symptoms, and age (p=0.432) or gender (p=0.539) was not significant.conclusion: the prevalence of covid-19 asymptomatic carriers in the study population was 14.9%; and 3.3% of them had oral manifestations, which emphasizes the need for personal protective equipment to prevent infection transmission.