Highlights
COVID-19 has dramatically impacted people’s lives around the world.
The effects of the quarantines and social distancing have changed family’s dynamic, including dietary habits.
Most parents have avoided seeking dental treatment even after trauma history during the pandemic.
Objective This survey aimed to assess the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on elective and urgency/emergency dental care and dentists concerned.
Materials and Methods A web-based survey was performed using Google forms questionnaire sent to dentists in Brazil. Questions included: personal information, type of dental care provided during quarantine, if emergencies increased, the dental office biosafety routine, among others. The levels of concern about the impact of quarantine on dental care and patient oral health conditions and the economic impact on dental practices were evaluated using a 0- to 10-point scale. Statistical analysis included descriptive, percentages, one-way ANOVA, Tukey, and chi-square tests.
Results During quarantine, 64.6% of the dentists attended only urgency/emergency treatments, while 26.1% maintained routine appointments, and 9.3% closed the dental offices. A higher percentage of dentists from the least affected states continued routine dental treatment; dentists were younger and presented a significantly lower level of concern about dental treatments and oral health conditions of their patients. An increase in urgency/emergency procedures was reported by 44.1% of the dentists, mostly due to the unavailability of routine/elective dental care and increased patient anxiety and stress. The main causes of urgency/emergency appointments were toothache, dental trauma, and broken restorations, besides the breakage of orthodontic appliances and temporomandibular disorders. Dentists reported a high level of concern about the economic impact caused by quarantine.
Conclusions The pandemic/quarantine has negatively affected the clinical routine. Personal protection/hygiene care must be adopted and reinforced by dental professionals/staff to make dental procedures safer.
The aim of the present study was to assess the association between untreated dental caries (UDC) and household food insecurity (HFI) among schoolchildren in different income strata. A population-based study was carried out with a sample of 584 12-y-old schoolchildren. Oral examinations were performed and HFI was determined using a validated scale. Other independent variables were analyzed for being of interest to the stratification of the results (per capita household income) or for acting as potential confounding variables. The prevalence of UDC and HFI was 45% and 39%, respectively. The multivariate models demonstrated that the UDC was significantly more prevalent among children in food-insecure households with per capita income of up to US$ 70.71 than among those in the same income stratum that were free of HFI [PR = 1.52 (95%CI = 1.01-2.29)]. HFI was associated with a greater frequency of UDC among low-income schoolchildren, but had no significant impact on this variable among children from other income strata. Thus, ensuring access to quality food may be a good strategy for minimizing inequities in oral health and reducing dental caries experience among schoolchildren from low-income families.
Background. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of the literature on the efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDTa) on cariogenic dental biofilm. Types of Studies Reviewed. Studies in vivo, in vitro, and in situ were included. Articles that did not address PDTa, those that did not involve cariogenic biofilm, those that used microorganisms in the plankton phase, and reviews were excluded. Data extraction and quality assessments were performed independently by two raters using a scale. Results. Two hundred forty articles were retrieved; only seventeen of them met the eligibility criteria and were analyzed in the present review. Considerable variability was found regarding the methodologies and application protocols for antimicrobial PDTa. Two articles reported unfavorable results. Practical Implications. The present systematic review does not allow drawing any concrete conclusions regarding the efficacy of antimicrobial PDTa, although this method seems to be a promising option.
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