Trends in Online Searches for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Dentists and dental staff involved in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) are at high risk of infection during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, prevention of viral infection is essential in OMS, and attention should be paid to the trends in OMS during COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to investigate the search trends in OMS during the COVID-19 pandemic using Google Trends (GT). Methods: COVID-19 was considered prevalent from December 2019, and the search period on GT was set to 1 year (January 1, 2020–January 1, 2021). We observed trends for the following OMS-related terms: “wisdom teeth,” “TMJ” (temporomandibular joint), “dental implants,” “jaw surgery,” and “jaw fracture.” Additionally, the terms “aerosol” and “PPE” (personal protective equipment) were also used in the study. We identified the top five countries for all the aforementioned terms to confirm the trends by country. The multivariate Steel–Dwass test was used to compare the relative search volume (RSV) of the OMS-related terms, and the Mann–Whitney U test was used for comparison between the two groups of the COVID-19 prevention terms “aerosol” and “PPE.” Results: The RSV showed a decreasing trend from March to April for the terms “wisdom teeth,” “TMJ,” and “dental implants”; however, there was an increasing trend for the same terms from May onward. The term “PPE” showed a sharp increase from March to April. In comparison by country during the 1-year period, the United States had the highest RSV for “wisdom teeth” and “jaw fracture,” and Malaysia had the highest RSV for “TMJ.” Similarly, the highest RSV for “dental implants” and “jaw surgery” was in Laos and Canada, respectively. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the search trends for the terms “wisdom teeth,” “TMJ,” and “dental implants”.