Characteristic changes of traumatic dental injuries in a teaching hospital of Wuhan under transmission control measures during the COVID‐19 epidemic

Abstract

Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are one of the most common oral health problems and present a significant public health problem worldwide, 1 which may be influenced by socioeconomic, geographical, cultural, and environmental factors. However, epidemiological reports indicate the characteristics of TDIs have remained relatively consistent. Children and adolescents in general are more susceptible to these injuries than adults. 2 Etiologic factors are very much related to the age of the patient. 1 In adolescents and

Pattern and Causes of Oral and Maxillofacial Injuries Presented to a Tertiary Care Public Dental Hospital in Strictly Imposed COVID-19 Lockdown Scenario

“…The most salient finding that emerged from the present study was the significant increase in falls that caused OMF trauma during the COVID-19 lockdown compared to the pre-COVID-19 era (November 2017 to January 2020) from 51.7% to 68.2%. These findings corroborate the findings from Wuhan, where falls contributed to 89% of OMF injuries in the COVID-19 era compared to 35.0% in the pre-COVID-19 era [23]. The mean age of 24.95 years of injured patients of the present study was comparable to the mean age of 21.6 years of the Wuhan study, representing economically productive age groups in both countries.…”

“…Dental injuries involving hard and soft tissues as well as extra-oral soft tissues were prominent in comparison to mid-facial and mandibular fractures. The most common injury type of the present study was injury to gingivae and oral mucosa (26.9%), in contrast to periodontal tissue injuries (51.8%) in a study on traumatic dental injuries in a teaching hospital in Wuhan, China while under transmission control measures during the COVID-19 epidemic between 23 January and 7 April 2020 [23]. The findings of both studies are comparable as they used the same dental trauma classification of Andreason [26].…”

“…Furthermore, males were more likely to sustain OMF injuries than females, with a ratio of 2.5:1 both in pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 lockdown scenarios in our study. In contrast, in Wuhan, in both periods, the male:female ratio was 1.5 to 1 [23]. The differences in male:female ratios in sustaining OMF injuries in two countries merit further investigation but could be attributed to gender-based sociocultural differences in exposure to risk of such injuries in the two countries.…”

“…Accordingly, in line with clinical practice restrictions around the world [4][5][6][7][8][9], providing routine dental treatment which involved aerosol-generating procedures was temporarily suspended. However, like many other countries, essential oral cancer and OMF trauma retained priority care status [22][23][24][25] in Sri Lanka. Hence, all OMF injury cases who presented to the Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) of National Dental Hospital (Teaching) Sri Lanka (NDHTSL), which is the country's premier, multispecialty tertiary care public dental hospital, were treated.…”

Socio-demographic Determinants, Patterns, and Treatment Outcomes of Dental Trauma Patients Treated at a Restorative Dentistry Unit, National Dental Teaching Hospital (NDTH), Sri Lanka

“…Nevertheless, only a few published studies such as pattern and causes of oral and maxillofacial injuries presented to a tertiary Care dental hospital in 2020 [9] and pattern of traumatic dental injuries in children attending the university dental hospital in 2008 [10] are available on dental trauma in the Sri Lankan population. Furthermore, there is limited research on dental trauma and oral and maxillofacial injuries including dental trauma treatment services amidst COVID-19 global pandemic despite gaining recognition as a priority for treatment provision across the globe [9,11]. Against this backdrop, the present study aimed to explore the pattern of traumatic dental injuries and treatment outcomes of the patients who attended the National Dental Hospital (Teaching) in Colombo comparing pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras.…”