Positivity rates of SAR-CoV-2 infection in orthodontic patients at the orthodontic clinic, University of Illinois Chicago

Abstract

COVID-19 has impacted and increased risks for healthcare providers, including orthodontists. There is no information regarding the potential transmission risks in the orthodontic community. This study aims to compare the positivity rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in orthodontic patients at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) orthodontic clinic to the positivity rate of the local population in Chicago. All orthodontic patients who sought treatment at the UIC orthodontic clinic from June 16 to October 31, 2021, were invited to participate in the study. Three milliliters of saliva from the participants were collected in the sample collection tubes and subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay to detect SAR-CoV-2. All participants’ age, sex, history of COVID-19 infection, and vaccination status were recorded. The COVID-19 positivity rates of Chicago, Cook County of Illinois, and the orthodontic clinic at UIC were compared. One thousand four hundred and thirty-seven orthodontic patients aged 6 to 70 years old (41.8% males and 58.2% females) participated in the study. Among all participants, nine participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (5 males and 4 females). During the study, the average COVID-19 positivity rate at the UIC orthodontic clinic was 0.626%. All of the positive participants were asymptomatic, and two of the participants had a history of COVID-19 infection. Among all positive participants, three participants had received complete COVID-19 vaccination. An increased frequency of positive cases at the orthodontic clinic was observed during the time of high positivity rate in Chicago and Cook County. A potential risk of COVID-19 transmission from patients to orthodontic providers remains, even with asymptomatic and vaccinated patients.

COVID-19 infection rates and mitigation strategies in orthodontic practices

“…However, the validated and comprehensive set of questionnaire in this study provides information of practice management and evidence for the orthodontic practices for the preparation of orthodontic practice for the future pandemic event. A recent report showed the positivity rate in orthodontic patients was 0.626% and a potential risk of COVID-19 transmission from patients to orthodontic providers remains, even with asymptomatic and vaccinated patients [ 15 ]. Our survey respondents cited the ADA website (80.9%), CDC website (74.2%), and state dental association websites (58.1%) as the most commonly used sources for COVID-19 information.…”

“…COVID-19 also affected the mental health of dental healthcare workers as fluctuated anxiety and depression [ 13 , 14 ]. Few studies reported the positivity rates of patients seeking dental treatments including emergency, pediatric and orthodontic treatments ranging from 0.027 to 6.7% [ 15 – 19 ]. Due to its high transmitted nature, COVID-19 leads to the report of 99.7% of dentists enhancing PPE protocols to mitigate the COVID-19 transmission [ 11 ].…”