Dental Care during COVID-19 Outbreak: A Web-Based Survey

Abstract

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.

Evaluation of Dental Practices Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

“…Nonetheless, most dentists found it prudent to make changes to protect themselves, their team members, and their patients. The main changes reported in our study were workload changes, additional PPE, and additional biosafety measures which are similar to what was found by Faccini et al (2020) wherein, 95.5% of the professionals reinforced biosafety improvements, such as the use of face shields and disposable PPE. A decrease in demand and use of emergency dental services was noted by Guo et al (2020).…”

“…The present study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of North Parana (UNOPAR), with approval number 4.147.506. According to a previous study by Faccini et al (2020), there are 338,000 dentists in Brazil; therefore, the sample should have been made up of at least 384 individuals, which would provide a confidence interval (CI) of 95% and a margin of error of 5% (Faccini et al, 2020). The inclusion criteria were as follows: dental school graduates, with or without a postgraduate degree, who were working in dental clinics.…”

“…Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, dentists’ concerns regarding elective and urgent/emergent dental care have been reported (Faccini et al, 2020). It is important to better understand how dental professionals have altered their clinical practices during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially in countries with vast territorial extensions, such as Brazil (which now has the third-highest number of cases worldwide).…”

Role of Teledentistry in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Comparative Analysis among Dental Professionals

“…[14][15][16] A web-based survey showed negative influence of COVID-19 pandemic on dental clinical routine due to closure of offices. 17 On the other hand, disruption of patient care cannot be paused as it will result in the increase of dental diseases. It indicates the need to utilize the safest way to ensure the provision of dental care in the pandemic.…”

Untitled

“…7 Currently, emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) significantly affected the mass population globally. 8 COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease 9 and has spread to 212 countries around the world within short span of time (source: WHO situation report-204). In the beginning of this year most dental services were closed or restricted to emergency treatment only because of lack of proper guidelines for COVID-19 infection control along with fear and anxiety among dental practitioners.…”