Impact of COVID-19 on the production of Dental Specialty Centers in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted healthcare systems globally, emphasizing the importance of understanding its effects on the provision of dental care. Objective To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the procedures conducted by the Specialized Dental Centers (CEOs) in Brazil from 2019 to 2022 and its relationship with Primary Health Care (PHC). Material and method An ecological study using secondary data from the Outpatient Production of the SUS (SIA/SUS). The variable of interest was the production of CEOs, including accredited CEOs in Brazil from January 2019 to December 2022, of types I, II, or III. The independent variables included: a) time period; b) region of Brazil; c) CEO type; and d) the percentage of coverage of primary care (PCP). Descriptive statistics, control charts, and negative binomial regression analysis were used. Spearman correlation analyses were applied between CEOs production and PCP. Result A decline in production was observed in April 2020 across all regions of the country. CEOs production decreased from 327,206 procedures in March 2020 to 37,742 in April of the same year. National CEOs production remained low until December 2020. The recovery of specialized dental procedure quantities above the average began in early 2022. In the years 2021 and 2022, there was a significant but very weak positive correlation between CEOs production and PCP (p<0.05). Conclusion The period of reduced CEOs production in 2020, followed by a gradual recovery, reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on specialized dental care production.