DOI
10.1016/j.jds.2020.02.002
First Page
564
Last Page
567
Abstract
Abstract Background/Purpose To assess how the current COVID-19 epidemic influenced peoples' utilization of emergency dental services in Beijing, China. Methods The first-visit patients seeking emergency dental services before or at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic were retrieved. Their demographic characteristics and the reasons for visiting were recorded and analyzed. Results There were 2,537 patients involved in this study. Thirty-eight percent fewer patients visited the dental urgency at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic than before. The distribution of dental problems has changed significantly. The proportion of dental and oral infection raised from 51.0% of pre-COVID-19 to 71.9% during COVID-19, and dental trauma decreased from 14.2% to 10.5%. Meanwhile, the non-urgency cases reduced to three-tenths of pre-COVID-19. Conclusion Within the limitation of this study, the COVID-19 epidemic had a strong influence on the utilization of emergency dental services.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Xiaoqiang; Guo, Huaqiu; Zhou, Yin; and Tan, Jianguo
(2020)
"The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the utilization of emergency dental services,"
Journal of Dental Sciences: Vol. 15:
Iss.
4, Article 22.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jds.2020.02.002
Available at:
https://jds.ads.org.tw/journal/vol15/iss4/22