Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Dental Service Utilization Reported by Patients Visiting a Tertiary Care Centre: Mixed Quantitative-qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 poses a major public health calamity. Its wider impact on health service utilization is yet to be studied. The study aims to assess dental problems faced by patients during the COVID-19 outbreak and the possible reasons in failing to seek dental careMethods: A cross-sectional quantitative-qualitative design was employed to assess the outcomes among patients reporting to a tertiary care centre. Participants were selected by convenient sampling and interviewed using structured questionnaire. Responses were transcribed, translated and coded before analyzing for the themes by thematic analysis. Quantitative component of the study was analyzed by descriptive and inferential methods.Result: Mean age of the participants was 43.7 years (SD: 16.1). Most of them (63%) reported not having had an oral examination in the past year while 62% reported being unable to seek dental treatment during the pandemic. Pain, sequelae of pain and other self-perceived urgent causes were identified as the major problems faced by the participant. Similarly, the reasons for not being able to seek dental treatment were grouped as fear of transmission, lack of transportation and lockdown, unavailability of health services, misinformation, lack of communication from hospital regarding its services, and deferred treatment by the hospitals.Conclusion: Pain remains the ultimate trigger for care seeking behaviour. Dental service utilization was reported to be influenced by a number of factors during COVID-19. The pandemic seemed to add up to the already pre-existing dilemma in seeking dental care. A conceptual framework has been suggested to aid further researches in the future for looking into the impacts from such pandemics.

Management of dental emergencies at tertiary dental care center, Rohtak during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The combined proportion of periapical and pulpal pathologies leading to pain are 43.5% which becomes the most common cause to seek emergency dental care. This is in line with the studies done by Haquin Guo et al [12] Sanford Grossmann et al [17] Ashish Shrestha et al [18] Dashrath Kafle et al [19] and Pajpani et al [14] . The proportions of patients seeking emergency dental care due to abscess/ swelling /space infection are 3.4% and those reporting due to trauma/ fracture are 2.3%.…”

Covid-19 Pandemisi Döneminde Diş Çekim Endikasyonlarının Değerlendirilmesi

“…Shrestha ve arkadaşları 32 çalışmasında pandemi döneminde kadın hastaların daha çok hastaneye başvurduğu belirtilse de Guo ve arkadaşları 7 pandemi öncesi dönemin aksine pandemi döneminde erkek hastaların daha fazla hastaneye başvurduğunu raporlamıştır. Guo ve arkadaşları 7 bu durumun; kadınların akut viral hastalıklarda dental tedavi konusunda daha çekingen davranmasına bağlı olabileceğini vurgulamaktadır.…”

Perceived Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for effective Implementation of Maternal and Child Health Care Services in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

“…When a person is in close contact (within 1 m) with someone who has respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing or sneezing), droplet transmission will occurred (Razzaq et al, 2020). Thus, the threat of having mucosae or conjunctiva will increase and in the specific circumstances and settings, airborne transmission may be possible (Razzaq et al, 2020; Shrestha et al, 2020).…”