Factors Associated with Regular Dental Checkups’ Discontinuation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey in Japan

Abstract

Managing oral health through regular dental checkups (RDCs) can help prevent dental diseases. Our study aimed to investigate the proportion and characteristics of those who stopped receiving RDCs owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A nationwide web-based survey in Japan in September 2021 (3556 participants) revealed that 62.4% of participants had habitually received RDCs before COVID-19. Of these (n = 2219), 71.5% had received RDCs since the pandemic and 28.5% had not. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed the following characteristics of those without RDCs since the pandemic: female (male, OR: 0.58, 95%CI: 0.45–0.74), lower household income (<2000 K JPY, OR: 1.45, 95%CI: 0.94–2.23; 2000 K–< 4000 K JPY, OR: 1.46, 95%CI: 1.08–1.98), fewer teeth (20–27, OR: 0.63, 95%CI: 0.39–1.03; ≥28, OR: 0.60, 95%CI: 0.36–0.98), and no interdental cleaning habits (OR: 0.51, 95%CI: 0.41–0.63). These results suggest that the disruption to RDCs owing to the pandemic is related to individual socioeconomic factors. Additionally, these individuals have poor oral health, which may be worsened by such barriers.

COVID-19–Related Factors Delaying Dental Visits of Workers in Japan

“…Overall, 21.5% of the participants postponed dental attendance due to COVID-19. Similar figures were reported in an online survey conducted in Germany (22%) 23 , Spain (24.5%) 28 , and Japan 19 (28.5%). Although dentists were advised to limit their dental practice to urgent care in some countries 1 , no strong recommendations were made to limit dental practice in Japan 29 .…”

“…The participants were selected from people registered with an online research company called Macromill (). Macromill has approximately 1.3 million registered people living in Japan and is used in several studies 19 , 20 . We outsourced the survey to Macromill.…”

“…Model 4 included factors associated with oral health, in addition to model 3. Moreover, it was reasonable to assume that the characteristics of postponing dental attendance would be different by regular dental attendance 19 . Subgroup analysis using multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the differences in the factors associated with postponing dental attendance between regular and non-regular dental attenders.…”

“…These results indicate that preventive care or non-emergency procedures might be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies reported the status of dental attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic 17 , 18 , 19 . One of these studies indicated that low SES was related to disruption of regular dental attendance in Japan 19 .…”

“…Several studies reported the status of dental attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic 17 , 18 , 19 . One of these studies indicated that low SES was related to disruption of regular dental attendance in Japan 19 .…”