Posted: December 2nd, 2022

Oral Health and COVID-19

Oral Health and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic increases the risk of oral diseases, oral healthcare disparities due to closer or reduced working hours of the dentists. On March 16, 2020, the American Dental Association recommended dentists postpone elective dental care and only provide emergency dental care until the earliest April 6, 2020 (Brian, Z & Weintraub, 2020). Research with 974 respondents shows that 22 percent of the participants postponed their dental care visit. Among the 22 percent, 72 percent postponed regular dental examination, 8.4 postponed dental visits, while 19.6 postponed planned therapy (Hajek et al., 2021). Kranz et al. (2021) indicate that nearly half of the American adults postponed their dental care due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sirin and Ozcelik find a remarkable relationship between COVID-19 and the dental damage stage. Giudice et al. (2020) appreciate that telemedicine can alleviate the negative impact of the pandemic on dental damage among adults and children. The study appreciates that telemedicine improves access to care, reduces cost, and reduces the risk of transmission of the virus due to minimal human contact. Mathivanan et al. (2020) appreciate that although few dentists have elaborate knowledge about teledentistry, the technology can increase access to dental care and minimize the negative effects of the pandemic on oral health. The CDC recommends dentists avoid aerosol-generating procedures to avoid the risk of viral infection. COVID-19 had led to closure and reduction of hours of providing dental care except for emergency services since aerosol-generating procedures increase the risk of viral transmission.

References
Brian, Z & Weintraub, J.A. (2020). Oral health and COVID-19: Increasing the need for
prevention and access, Preventing chronic disease, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200266
Giudice, A., Barone, S., Muraca, D., Averta, F., Antonelli, A. & Fortunato, L. (2020). Can
teledentistry improve the monitoring of patients during the Covid-19 dissemination? A descriptive pilot study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (10). p 3399. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103399
Hajek, A., De Bock, F., Huebl, L., Kretzler, B. & Konig, H.H. (2021). Postponed dental visits
during the COVID-19 pandemic and their correlations. Evidence from the nationally representative COVID-19 snapshot monitoring in Germany ( COSMO). Healthcare, 9 (1), 50, https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9010050
Kranz, A.M., Gahlon, G. Dick, A.W. & Stein, B.D. (2021). Characteristics of U.S. adults
delaying dental care due to COVID-19 pandemic, JDR Clinical and Translational Research, 6 (1), 8-14. DOI: 10.1177/2380084420962778
Mathivanan, A. Gopalakrishnan, J.R., Dhayanithi, A., Narmatha, M., Bharathan, K., & Saranya,
K. (2020). Teledentistry: is it the future of rural dental practice? A cross-sectional study. Journal of pharmacy & biogllied sciences, 12 (suppl 1), p 304-307. DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_91_20
Sirin, D.A. & Ozcelik, F. (2021). The relationship between Covid-19 and the dental damage
stage determines by radiological examination. Oral Radiology, 3: 1-10. Advance Online Publication 17: 200266, DOI: 10.1007/s11282-020-00497-0

Order | Check Discount

Tags: Oral Health and COVID-19