ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess the status of health services provision of public tertiary dental hospitals during the COVID-19 epidemic in China and to evaluate the regional difference of telehealth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The health services provision of public tertiary dental hospitals in China mainland during the COVID-19 epidemic was inquired. The status of non-emergency dental services, emergency dental services, and online professional consultation and the hospitals' geographical distribution were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: All the 48 public tertiary dental hospitals suspended general non-emergency dental treatment while providing emergency dental services only. Ninety percent of them notified the change of dental services online, and 69% of them offered free online professional consultations. The penetration rate of online technology was significantly higher in the eastern region than that of the central and western regions. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant change in the health service provision of Chinese public tertiary dental hospitals during the COVID-19 epidemic and wider use of telehealth in the eastern region. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This report demonstrated that dental health services were significantly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in China, which might lead to a long-time impact on dental care in the future.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections , Dental Care , Emergency Medical Services , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral , Tertiary Care Centers , COVID-19 , China , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Delivery of Health Care , Dental Care/standards , Dental Care/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Remote Consultation , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
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.