An Experience of Public Dental Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflection and Analysis

Németh, Orsolya; Orsós, M; Simon, Fanni; Gaál, Péter

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041915

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…42 Mind, the mental health charity, found that a third of adults did not access support because they did not think that their issue was serious enough. 43 They also found the key challenge was to ensure those who want to access services know that they deserve support. 28 Several survey participants stated felt that 'others have it worse' and that they needed to 'suck it up' or 'get on with it' .…”

Section: Perception Of Stress During the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of dentists in Wales

Owen¹,

Seddon

Clarke

et al. 2022

Br Dent J

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This study aimed to gain both an understanding of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has been having on the mental health of dentists working in Wales, as well as understanding the levels of stress the pandemic has caused. We also aimed to understand the specific causes of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on dentistry across Wales and almost all aspects of the profession have been affected. Workloads have significantly changed, as well as the way patients can be treated. The pandemic has also affected dentistry differently as it has progressed. The Welsh government's pandemic red phase massively impacted the work of community dental service (CDS) dentists who set up and treated patients in urgent dental care and who continue to do so. It also greatly changed the day-to-day work of the general dental services (GDSs) and created financial concerns for dental practices as businesses. In particular, private dentistry was financially impacted with very limited relief from any government schemes. Redeployment within the NHS has also taken place throughout the pandemic and public health dentistry had to focus on the pandemic with oral health programmes being suspended since March 2020. At the time of writing, 18 months on from the start of the pandemic and seven months since the survey was completed, dentistry is still operating within the Welsh government's pandemic low amber restrictions, with continuing enhanced infection control measures causing limits on patient throughput. Practices and clinics have also had to adapt to the various changes COVID-19 has brought; from enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) becoming the norm, to the need for minimum air changes and fallow periods following aerosol generating procedures. Increased requirements for decontamination have also become routine. However, there is nothing normal or routine about dentistry in a pandemic and we heard many anecdotes of how working conditions were affecting the stress levels and morale of dentists and their teams in both the GDS and CDS. We decided a full investigation was needed in order to highlight the longer-term effects of the pandemic and altered working conditions on dentists' mental health. Data on dentists' mental health over the course of the pandemic were limited. However, the British Dental Association's Health Assured Service saw a 575% rise in calls for counselling. This study aimed to gather essential data on the mental health of dentists in

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Section: Perception Of Stress During the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of dentists in Wales

Owen¹,

Seddon

Clarke

et al. 2022

Br Dent J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In terms of visits, research in the US recorded a 33% decrease in the number of visits to dental clinics in March -August 2020 compared to the corresponding period in 2019 [19]. Correspondingly, lower dental visits in 2020 were found in surveys in Hungary [20], India [21] and Australia [22]. In England, 21 million adults had seen a dentist within the last two years in June 2020 (47.7% of the population).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Provision of Dental Care by the Public Dental Services of Cyprus

Charalambous

Syngelakis

Kantaris³

2023

EJDENT

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Background: During 2020 dentists were included in the group of health professionals that were directly affected by the pandemic. This study aimed to capture the impact of the pandemic in the provision of dental care through the Public Dental Services (PDS) of Cyprus in 2020 and 2021 (during pandemic) compared to 2019 (pre pandemic). More specifically, it examined the consequences in the number of visits, the average number of patients per day, the proportion of new patients to the total number of visits, and the type of services provided. Methodology: Statistical data from the PDS were analyzed with the help of SPSS2. Results: Cyprus PDS statistics show a national decline in the number of visits of 41.3% in 2020 compared to 2019 (p < 0.01) and a further decline of 9.6% in 2021 (compared to 2020). The decline in the average number of patients per day (37.6%) in 2019-21 was less than the decline in the average number of visits (47.0%). Similarly, there was a 34.7% decrease in work volume (p < 0.01) between 2019 and 2020 and a further 2.8% decrease in 2021. These decreases were not consistent both between different types of centres and between different districts. In terms of treatments offered nationwide, the largest decrease in 2020 was in dental scaling (53.5%), followed by dental examinations (47.9%), composite fillings (47.5%) and amalgam (45.4%). The share of the most affected dental treatment (scaling, examination, composite and amalgam) in the total workload has decreased from 51% in 2019 to 40% in 2020 (p < 0.01). The least affected dental work in 2020 was temporary fillings, which increased by 6.6%. In 2021, the profile of care provision changed as there was an increase in composite fillings, up 45.7% compared to 2020 (p<0.01), while all other types of dental work continued to decline. The share of the most affected dental treatments (scaling, examination, composite and amalgam) in the total workload increased (from 40% in 2020 to 43.9% in 2021), but still significantly lower than in 2019 (pre-pandemic - 51%). Interestingly, the share of extractions in total workload increased from 16.6% in 2019 to 21.5% in 2021. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictive measures imposed had a negative impact on the provision and seeking of dental care by the PDS. The decline in the frequency of dental visits, if sustained over a longer period of time and not reversed, will have a negative impact on the level of oral health of people living in Cyprus and will increase the unmet need for dental care. The increase in extractions is expected to have a negative impact on the level of oral health, as it is the most radical dental treatment and the need for prosthetic rehabilitation will also increase. In addition, the economic impact of COVID-19 and the global economic instability, which has reduced family incomes, is expected to drive more patients to the public sector, where fees are quite low, adding to already burdened waiting lists. People with lower socio-economic status are expected to bear the highest burden, which will increase oral health inequalities.

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“…It came into limelight in December, 2019 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) [ 3 , 4 ]. Since its emergence, this pandemic has spread worldwide has become the number one health challenge [ 5 , 6 ]. The virus can potentially spread through droplets or by usual contact [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of COVID-19 on dental service delivery in Fiji: Perspective of Dental Officers (Dos) and Dental Managers (DMs)

Kajal

Mohammadnezhad

2023

PLoS ONE

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Background Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) has had significant impact on dentistry in Fiji. Due to lack of previous study, this study aims to explore the perspective of Dental Officers (DOs) and Dental Managers (DMs) on the effects of COVID-19 on dental service delivery in Fiji Islands. Methods This qualitative study was conducted amongst 30 DOs and 17 DMs between 9th August to 12th September, 2021. It was conducted in the government dental clinics, private dental clinics and the School of Dentistry and Oral Health clinic (SDOH), in the Central Division, Fiji. The study settings were randomly selected. Purposive sampling method was used for the selection of participants who met the study criteria. Semi-structure open ended questionnaires were used for data collection through in-depth interviews via zoom. Manual thematic analysis of the data was conducted to derive themes and codes. Results The participants interviewed for the study included more female DOs (66.7%) and male DMs (58.8%). Seven themes emerged from data analysis: range of services delivered, appointment versus walk-in patients for aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), impact of pandemic on clinic opening hours, impact of COVID-19 on patient numbers, quality of services delivered, resources and infrastructure, perceptions about the burden of disease. Conclusion COVID-19 has significantly affected dental service delivery. Mostly emergency dental services were delivered. AGPs were delivered on appointment basis. Most participants stated the quality of services had improved. Participants stated that they were not given adequate resources and the infrastructure was not up to standard to provide dental services during the pandemic. The dental disease burden had increased during the pandemic as per the participants. Future research can be conducted amongst other dental professionals in other divisions of the country.

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An Experience of Public Dental Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflection and Analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of dentists in Wales

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of dentists in Wales

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Provision of Dental Care by the Public Dental Services of Cyprus

Effect of COVID-19 on dental service delivery in Fiji: Perspective of Dental Officers (Dos) and Dental Managers (DMs)

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