Impact of sars-COV-2 on the attitudes of patients with prosthodontic needs

Aim: SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic that has negative consequences for many parts of life. To our knowledge, no study has assessed the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on a possible delay in prosthodontic treatments because of a potential concern of contamination in individuals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess this potential impact of fear, as well as oral health-related quality of life, in partially edentulous patients using questionnaires during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Material(s) and Method(s): A total of 135 partially edentulous patients (74 females and 61 males aged 18-70 years) participated in this study. A complete questionnaire consisting of general knowledge questions on SARS-CoV-2 and the OIDP scale, which evaluates the effect of oral status on daily activities were used in participants. Result(s): Statistical analyzes showed that participants with a history of SARS-CoV-2 and/or who are aware of a member of their social circle with a history of the virus, and/or who is deceased, were unwilling to receive dental care during the pandemic. Most of the participants between the ages of 31 and 60 were more worried about the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during dental treatment. Discussion(s): Concerns about SARS-CoV-2 contamination of patients over 30 years of age may have a negative impact on oral health due to delayed prosthodontic treatments.Copyright © 2022, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 outbreak journey of dental care workers: A systematic review.

The conditions of health-care professionals including dental fraternity have been extremely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dental care workers have suspended all routine dental activities with the fear of transmission of the virus from aerosol-generating dental procedures. They have also stood with medical care professionals as frontline warriors because of the exponentially overburdened of the COVID-19-positive patients worldwide. With the available literature, the aim of this article is to address the trajectories of the life of oral health workers during the outbreak of COVID-19 as well as to analyze what measures shall be taken to improve their overall physical, mental, social, and economic health and precautions while working in dental environment.

Refining the process: Safety net dental professionals' experiences with teledentistry implementation during the first year of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Teledentistry helped dentistry adapt to pandemic-era challenges; little is known about dental professionals' teledentistry experiences during this time. This analysis sought to understand professionals' pandemic teledentistry experiences and expectations for the modality's future. METHODS: We conducted virtual individual interviews (n = 21) via Zoom to understand how federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) delivered oral care during the first year of the pandemic, including but not limited to the use of teledentistry. We independently coded each transcript, then identified themes and sub-themes. RESULTS: We identified three major themes: (1) Logistical and equity considerations shaped teledentistry's adoption; (2) Team-based factors influenced implementation; and (3) Teledentistry's future is as-yet undetermined. CONCLUSIONS: Experiences with teledentistry during the first year of COVID-19 varied substantially. Future directions should be more deliberate to counter the urgency of pandemic-style implementation and must address appropriate use, reimbursement guidance, patient and provider challenges, and customizability to each clinic's context.

Knowledge and Attitude of Dental Practitioners toward Geriatric Dental Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Questionnaire Study

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and attitude of dentists toward geriatric dental care during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among a self-selected sample of dentists from different parts of India. The first part of the questionnaire comprised 12 items that collected information regarding knowledge, and the second part comprised 14 items that assessed the attitude of participants toward geriatric dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Evaluating knowledge–65% of participants were aware of guidelines by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) for dentists that should be practiced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 93.6% were aware of post-COVID complications present in older adults after recovering from the acute phase of the disease. Evaluating attitude: A total of 69.8% of them found it difficult to deliver dental care to geriatric patients after following all the COVID-19 practice guidelines, and 97.1% of participants were willing to treat a post-COVID older adult in the dental clinic. Conclusion: A total of 69.8% of them found it difficult to deliver dental care to geriatric patients after following all the COVID-19 practice guidelines. Around 31.4% of dentists were not aware of the precautions to be taken to treat older adults with post-COVID complications. Hence there is a need for further studies on post-COVID complications and guidelines for treating the elderly during the pandemic. Clinical significance: As a consequence of newly emerged barriers and post-COVID complications, much poorer oral health outcomes might occur among geriatric patients in the near future. Hence it is important to understand the knowledge and attitude of dentists towards geriatric dental care in order to equip the already small workforce interested in geriatric oral health care. © The Author(s). 2023.

Effect of COVID-19 on dental care for children during the post-pandemic era in Ghana: A concern for policymaking

The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt globally, especially in the delivery of healthcare services such as dental care, although the incidence in Africa is comparatively low. This review article aims to explore the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and its impact on dental care for children in Ghana. Some dental facilities in Ghana have been experiencing multiple challenges in service delivery, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted all dental care in many parts of Ghana due to its impact on food insecurity, economic breakdown, depression, shortage of essential instrument supplies, inadequate health workers, and poor infection control practices, which present the main risks to dental care. Furthermore, the shutting of dental departments due to the COVID-19 lockdown has restricted the accessibility and utilization of dental services, especially for children. Hence, to avoid further and future pandemics and their impacts on dental care, there is a need to address the implications identified and prepare for the delivery of suitable dental healthcare in Ghana. 2023 Agyekum and Tuglo.

Implementation of Infection Control and Prevention in Dental Practice in Palembang during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Indonesian Dentist Association (PDGI) has introduced regulations and recommendations to guarantee the safety of dental practitioners and patients during pandemics, yet, the implementation have not been optimal. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of infection control prevention in dental practices during the pandemic in Palembang using a qualitative approach. Focus group discussions (FGD) have been performed to batches of dentists, followed by in-depth interviews with the Head of the PDGI Palembang. Observations were also carried out to pertain more information on the on-site implementation. Research shows that despite having sufficient knowledge and a favorable attitude on corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission prevention and guidelines were made by PDGI, the majority of dentists did not adhere to the guidelines and failed to provide the necessary, such as pay with cashless, using telemedicine, level 3 personal protective equipment (PPE), aerosol, vacuum aerosol, and room renovation due to financial difficulties, room availability, swelter, the glasses fog up, and the limitations of telemedicine services. The absence of particular government regulation on dental practices hindered PDGI's ability to impose strict sanctions on those who failed to adhere. PDGI has socialized infection management and infection control prevention, yet its implementation is inadequate due to budgetary constraints and a lack of government regulation. Congruence and updated regulation need to be performed by the government with the support of PDGI to command dental practices and healthcare practices in delivering safe and quality dental services to the patients.

Changes in dental and medical visits before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among U.S. children aged 1-17 years.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously impacted the U.S. healthcare system, but no study has examined the impact of the pandemic on utilization of dental care among U.S. children. Changes in past-year dental versus medical visits and perceived unmet health needs between 2019 and 2020 among U.S. children aged 1-17 years were examined. METHODS: National and state representative, cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Children's Health conducted during June 2019-January 2020 (i.e. pre-pandemic, n = 28 500) and July 2020-January 2021 (i.e. intra-pandemic, n = 41 380) were analysed. Any past-year visit and perceived unmet needs (i.e. delay or inability to receive needed care) were reported by the parent proxy. Weighted prevalence estimates were compared using two-tailed chi-squared tests at p < .05. Poisson regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between having dental and/or medical unmet needs during the pandemic and indicators of poor health and social wellbeing. RESULTS: Between 2019 and 2020, a significantly reduced prevalence of past-year medical (87.2%-81.3%) and dental visits (82.6%-78.2%) among U.S. children aged 1-17 years (all p < .05) were observed. Correspondingly, perceived unmet needs increased by half for dental care (from 2.9% in 2019 to 4.4% in 2020) and almost one-third for medical care (from 3.2% to 4.2% in 2020). Subgroups with the highest prevalence of unmet dental need included those with low socio-economic status, living with their grandparents, uninsured and living with a smoker. CONCLUSIONS: Unmet health needs increased in general but increased more for dental than for medical care among U.S. children aged 1-17 years. Enhanced and sustained efforts will be needed to deliver targeted services towards disadvantaged segments of the population to narrow existing disparities.

Design Of A Methodology For The Assessment Of Anxiety In Patients At The Dental Office During Covid-19

The heterogeneity of the measures, together with the social disasters of the period, greatly affected the dental service since many patients did not know whether to attend their appointments with the dentist. Which, combined with the mental effects caused by the pandemic, led to manifestations of different feelings and anxiety for dental patients who did not know how to drive properly due to lack of knowledge on the subject. Therefore, it is decided to carry out an investigation in a SHIRPAO dental clinic by the authors whose main problem was formulated as follows: how to assess anxiety in dental office patients during COVID-19 in the dental clinic? Thus, the objective of the present study: to design a methodology to assess the level of anxiety and concerns of dental patients regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, the design of this methodology can help students and professionals in the correct treatment of anxiety. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results is the property of ResearchTrentz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Oral and Dental Needs and Teledentistry Applications in the Elderly: Real-Time Surveillance Using Google Trends

Featured ApplicationThe present cross-sectional analysis aimed to evaluate the level of interest in oral and dental needs and teledentistry applications among the elderly, as well as whether COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks were influenced by real-time surveillance, using Google Trends. As the number of elderly dental patients continues to increase, there is a growing need for specific interventions that address the biological and psychological issues of this population. Teledentistry represents a healthcare delivery system that can overcome these problems, although the oral and dental care provision methods involved are still unknown to most people. Indeed, there is a need to raise awareness of the indications for teledentistry, the available interventions, and the potential benefits for the oral and dental care of elderly patients.Considering the increasing need for oral and dental care in the elderly, teledentistry has been proposed to improve the education of elderly patients in oral health maintenance and risk factor control, identify patients' concerns in advance, facilitate monitoring, and save time and money. The present cross-sectional analysis of Google search data through real-time surveillance with Google Trends aimed to determine Google users' interest in oral and dental needs and teledentistry applications in the elderly, and to compare search volumes before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Extracted CVS data were qualitatively analyzed. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were performed between searches for "elderly” and "teledentistry”, and all the oral and dental needs and teledentistry applications. The Mann–Whitney U test compared search volumes in the 36 months before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Google users' interest in the elderly and related oral and dental needs was diffusely medium–high, while teledentistry and its applications were of lower interest. Interest in teledentistry and its applications was strongly related to interest in the older population, which is consistent with the assumption that older adults represent the population segment that could benefit most from these tools. A positive correlation was also found between searches for "Elderly” and searches for almost all oral and dental needs typical of the geriatric population. Search volumes increased significantly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. More information about teledentistry should be disseminated to increase knowledge and awareness, especially among older patients, about its indications, applications, and advantages.

Dental antibiotics and referrals in general medical practice: Wales 1974-2017.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore trends and predictors for antibiotic prescriptions and referrals for patients seeking dental care at General Medical Practitioners (GMPs) over a 44-year period in Wales, UK. METHODS: This retrospective observational study analysed data from the nationwide Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank of visits to GMPs. Read codes associated with dental diagnoses were extracted from 1974-2017. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Over the 44-year period, there were a total of 160,952 antibiotic prescriptions and 2,947 referrals associated with a dental attendance. Antibiotic prescriptions were associated with living in the most deprived (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.89-0.93) or rural (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.82-0.84) areas, whereas referrals were associated with living in an urban area (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.99-2.35) or rural and less deprived area (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.26-2.33). The number of antibiotic prescriptions decreased over time whereas the number of referrals increased. CONCLUSIONS: These changes coincide with dental attendance rates at GMPs over the same period and indicate that appointment outcome and repeat patient attendance are linked. Rurality and deprivation may also influence care provided. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: General medical practices are not the most appropriate place for patients seeking dental care to attend, and efforts should be made to change current practice and policy to support patients to seek care from dental practices. When patients do seek dental care from GMPs they should be encouraged to refer the patient to a dentist rather than prescribe antibiotics as an important element of national antimicrobial stewardship efforts, as well as to discourage repeat attendance.

Oral health education for systemic sclerosis patients: A booklet report.

Purpose/objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare chronic autoimmune disease characterized by vascular abnormalities and connective tissue disorders. In 2021, the multidisciplinary team of the university hospital recognized a demand for oral health information among SSc patients. This study aims to describe the development of an SSc oral health booklet and its validation by people with SSc. Methods: For the development of the booklet, the project creators employed the action research methodology involving ten stages. SSc patients evaluated the material by filling out a digital form. Results: One hundred and thirty-one people with SSc evaluated the booklet. It received an average score of 9.73 (SD: 0.80) in relevance, 9.82 (SD: 0.47) in explicitness, and 9.49 (SD: 0.93) in aesthetics. The final version was emailed to the participants and posted on social media. Innovation: This is the first booklet that deeply addresses these issues in Portuguese and constitutes a soft technology to instruct and assist patients with SSc. Conclusion: The production of high-quality educational materials on oral health for patients with SSc is necessary. The online distribution increased its reach and had great importance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Care Utilization and Oral Health Conditions in the United States.

PURPOSE: We aim to understand the impact of the COVID-19 on health care utilization and oral health conditions of patients at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), where patients are disproportionately low income, publicly insured, or uninsured. METHODS: Using deidentified electronic health records of patients at FQHCs in the United States from January 2019 through December 2020 (n = 431,509), variations in health care utilization since the COVID-19 outbreak were observed by procedure types and patient characteristics. Changes in dental utilization and oral health conditions were characterized using mixed-effect negative binomial and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Dental utilization decreased more drastically than medical utilization during shelter-in-place periods in 2020 and rebounded more slowly after the reopening. Greater demands for oral surgery and teledentistry and less demands for preventive services were observed in 2020. As compared to 2019, patients experienced more psychological stress-related dental conditions with odds ratios of 1.52 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-1.76) for uninsured, 1.48 (95% CI, 1.07-2.02) for Medicaid enrollees, and 2.38 (95% CI, 1.68-3.40) for private insurance beneficiaries. CONCLUSION: As a result of COVID-19, patients received more invasive dental procedures due to delayed treatment and experienced a higher risk of psychological stress-related dental conditions. Continued support for statewide policies to expand access to oral health care and oral health promotion strategies for the vulnerable populations would be encouraged. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT: Our study describes the impact of COVID-19 on dental care use and oral health conditions at Federally Qualified Health Centers, targeted to provide care for some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. The results of this retrospective cohort study can be used by clinicians and policymakers on understanding the clinical needs of the vulnerable populations after the pandemic. It highlights the need for continued support to expand access to oral health care and oral health promotion to these populations.

Gabor Filter-Based Caries Image Feature Analysis Using Machine Learning

Dental caries sufferers in Indonesia demonstrate a higher frequency than other dental diseases even before the Covid-19 pandemic. The high risk of spreading the virus during the pandemic hinders handling dental care patients. Teledentistry is suggested as the main alternative to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. This study aims to establish a system for classifying the level of dental caries based on texture applicable for clinical implementation. Dental caries images were extracted using the Gabor Filter method and classified using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN). A downsampling technique was applied to this system to reduce the large number of features affecting the classification time. System testing revealed that the Cubic SVM model generated the best result: Accuracy of 90.5%, precision of 89.75%, recall of 89.25%, specificity of 91.75%, and f-score of 88.5%. © 2022 IEEE.

Rapid implementation of teledentistry during the Covid-19 lockdown

Introduction: The current corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak set new challenges to nearly all health plans and large health organizations worldwide, including movement restrictions, strict limitations in healthcare services, especially in the dental profession, and patient fears regarding potential infection. Telehealth can serve as an effective platform for remote connection between dental healthcare providers and patients, and can help reduce the risk of infection when social distancing is required. Objective(s): The current study aimed to evaluate the quality of treatment provided via teledentistry, as perceived by patients using the service, as well as their willingness to use online distant medical consultation in the future. Method(s): Since March 2020, a new online service was implemented in the Oral Medicine Unit and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department in the Galilee Medical Center, to expand the range of services beyond merely emergency treatments. Result(s): The current study examined the quality of teledentistry services as perceived by 89 patients participating in at least one teleconsultation, and their acceptance of remote healthcare. Satisfaction rates were high in patients who received both full and partial solution to their chief complaint. Moreover, acceptance of the teledentistry platform was high, even in the older age groups. Conclusion(s): We propose to implement teledentistry services in current and future pandemics, as well as during routine times, to strengthen our health care system with digital technologies.Copyright © 2021 The Authors

Dental Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The rampant spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide increases the likelihood that dental health care professionals will treat this subset of the patient population. Due to the characteristics of the profession and the virus, two situations deserve attention: the disinfection of surfaces that can be contaminated during dental treatment and the presence of the virus in the oral cavity and the countless possibilities of microbial interaction with microorganisms in the oral cavity. Objective(s): The objective of this review was to point out the current stage of the discussion on dental bio-safety involving professionals, the work team and patients. Method(s): The following databases were consulted: MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine, USA-NLM), Lilacs, Scielo, Embase, Web of Science and Google Academic with the keywords COVID-19 and dental practice, dentistry, oral conditions, mouthrinses. Result(s): Disinfection of surfaces has always been paramount and the protocol to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 seems to be established. SARS-CoV-2 is vulnerable to oxidation, it is recommended to use a mouth rinse containing oxidizing agents. Conclusion(s): Dentists are among the professionals who are most at risk of COVID-19 infection, and they must have extra attention during this period, biosafety measures must be reinforced and patients must be motivated to maintain a strict oral hygiene routine so that there is no accumulation of biofilm and this may somehow interfere with their systemic condition.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Trends in dental insurance claims in the United States in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A 3-year perspective (2019-2022).

OBJECTIVES: We showed in a previous analysis the patterns of disruption for private dental insurance claims in the United States caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2020. The present report examines trends during 2020 and 2021, that is, contrasting perspectives during 2019 with the acute phase of the pandemic in 2020, and 2021. METHODS: Private dental insurance paid claims from a data warehouse were obtained, encompassing a 5% random sample of records between January 2019 and December 2021 for child and adult insureds who filed a claim in 2019, 2020, and 2021. We classified claims into one of four categories based on the likelihood of being associated with urgent/emergency care. RESULTS: The precipitous reduction in dental care claims in March-June 2020 recovered to almost pre-pandemic levels by the fall of 2020. However, a downward decline in private dental insurance claims started in the late fall of 2020 and continued through 2021. Differential impacts in dental care categories-in terms of urgency of care-were evident 2021, closely resembling previous trends in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: Dental care claims from the first year of the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic were contrasted with perspectives in 2021. A downward trend in demand/availability changes in dental care insurance claims set in for 2021, perhaps linked to perceptions of the overall economic situation. Such downward trend has continued overall, even after considering seasonal changes and the acceleration of the pandemic during the Delta, Omicron, and other variants.

Sociobehavioural Factors Associated With Child Oral Health During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify the sociobehavioural factors that influenced children's oral health during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The online cross-sectional study was conducted in Al Jouf Province in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 960 parents of children aged 5 to 14 years were invited by multistage stratified random sampling. Descriptive, multinomial, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate odds ratios and determine the relationship between independent and dependent variables. P < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 960 participants, 693 (72.1%) reported that their child had 1 or more untreated dental decay. The children of uneducated parents were 1.6-fold more likely to have 1 or more untreated dental decay (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.66; 95% CI, 0.74-3.73; P < .001). The children of unemployed parents were 4.3-fold more likely to have a financial burden for a child dental visit (AOR, 4.34; 95% CI, 2.73-6.89; P < .001). Parents from a rural area were 26.3-fold more likely to have spent a lag period of over 2 years since their child's last dental visit (AOR, 26.34; 95% CI, 7.48-92.79; P < .001). Nursery-level children were 5.4-fold more likely to need immediate care (AOR, 5.38; 95% CI, 3.01-9.60; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated a very high prevalence of 1 or more untreated dental decay in our cohort. Children of rural areas, uneducated, unemployed, widow/divorced, low- and middle-income parents and nursery school children were linked to poorly predictive outcomes of child oral health during the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the activities of Dental Clinic of University Hospital Center Zagreb

Aim:The aim of this study was to show the impact of the pandemic on changes in guidelines for clinical work and the number of patients of the Clinic of Dentistry, University Hospital Centre (UHC) Zagreb, in the period of normal work before the pandemic and in subsequent years. Methods: From the data base of the hospital information system of UHC Zagreb data were retrospectively collected on the total number of cases at the Clinic of Dentistry in each period and the total number of cases at individual departments, for the period from January 1 to November 11, in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Results: During the pandemic period the most significant decrease in the number of patients in majority of organizational units was evident in 2020 compared to 2018, when a decrease in the number of patients of 30.27% was recorded, while in 2021, compared to 2018, the number of patients decreased by 9.73 %. The Department of Oral Surgery and the Department of Orthodontics had an almost unchanged number of patients in 2020 compared to 2018, while in 2021, compared to 2018, there was an increase in the number of patients. Rebro Dental Clinic and One-day surgery also recorded an increase in the number of patients. At the time of the epidemiological recommendations on the introduction of cold drive, these units of the Dental Clinic also treated other, less urgent diagnoses that would lead to bad consequences if delayed. During the collective annual leave of all other organizational units of the Dental Clinic, these units take over the provision of all necessary services of the Dental Clinic. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in the number of patients at the level of the Dental Clinic. The inability to treat teeth in a timely manner resulted in increased need for extractions and an increase in the number of patients at the Department of Oral Surgery. In 2021 there was a greater or lesser increase in the number of patients in individual departments, which, however, in the observed period has not yet reached the numbers from 2018. In the coming months, a further increase in the number of patients and elective dental procedures is expected. © 2022 Hrvatski Lijecnicki Zbor. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of access and attitudes of patients to dental treatments during COVID -19 pandemic

Introduction: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restricted patients to reach healthcare personnel and postponed chronic diseases follow-ups.Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the dental treatment processes of patients and the effects of these processes on oral health from patient' perspective. Material and methods: A questionnaire consisting of COVID-19 and dental procedures was filled by patients applied to dental faculty. Data were evaluated using Pearson's χ2 test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 403 patients (248 females/155 males) participated in the present study. Toothache, abscess, and impacted tooth (27.8%) were the main reasons for the participants to apply to the hospital, followed by caries and filling (22.3%). Most of the participants (52.5%) did not hesitate to go to the dentist, but 60.8% of them postponed their treatment during the pandemic. More than half of the patients (56.1%) thought that dental procedures were risky in terms of COVID-19 transmission. The younger age group was less hesitant compared with the middle ages (p < 0.05). High school (65.7%) and university (58.7%) graduates believed that the risk of COVID-19 transmission from dental procedures was higher than in other groups (p < 0.05). Vaccinated individuals were statistically more hesitant of going to the dentist than those who were not vaccinated (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that toothache, abscess, and impacted tooth were the first reasons for applying to the dental hospital. Most of the patients stated that they hesitated to go to the dentist and postponed their treatments during the pandemic. Patients with higher education levels had a higher rate of vaccination. © 2022 Polish Dental Association.