RT Journal Article
T1 The Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Providing Special Care Dentistry: A Survey for Dentists
A1 Limeres Posse, Jacobo
A1 Harten, Maria T. van
A1 Mac Giolla Phadraig, Caoimhin
A1 Diniz Freitas, Márcio
A1 Faulks, Denise
A1 Dougall, Alison
A1 Daly, Blánaid
A1 Diz Dios, Pedro
K1 COVID-19
K1 Dentistry
K1 Disability
K1 Special care dentistry
K1 Dental care
AB This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the experiences of special care dentistry providers worldwide. An online survey was administered from 10 to 31 July 2020. Age, sex, years of professional activity, COVID-19 status, geographical area of origin and length of lockdown period were recorded for all participating dentists. The relationships between these variables and the changes in clinical activity, the treated patients’ COVID-19 status and the implementation of protective measures in the dental clinic were analyzed. A total of 436 (70.6% women) dentists from 59 countries responded to the survey. Clinical activity was reduced or stopped for 79.1% of respondents. The most common change was to limit treatment to urgent care only (53.7%). Treatment under general anesthesia or deep sedation was discontinued (51.0%) or reduced (35.8%) for the majority of respondents. Male dentists were more likely to maintain their clinical activity than female dentists (p < 0.001), and respondents from North America were more likely to do so than participants from other geographical regions (p < 0.001). Dentists from Latin America and the Caribbean were more likely to report treatment of confirmed cases of COVID-19 than those from Europe (p < 0.001). The implementation of protective measures in the dental office was determined by the survey participant’s sex, intensity of clinical activity and geographical area of origin. To conclude, the provision of special care dentistry was considerably reduced in response to the pandemic. Service maintenance was mainly related to the geographical area in which the surveyed dentists worked, further exacerbating pre-existing inequalities
PB MDPI
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24740
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24740
LA eng
NO Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 2970; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062970
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026