Changes in the characteristics of dental emergencies under the influence of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A retrospective study
Background Further understanding of the distribution and changing characteristics of dental diseases is of great significance for all dental emergency centers for strengthening the medical staff’s treatment abilities and effective use of emergency resources in the face of public health emergencies involving highly infectious respiratory diseases.
Methods The medical records of 4158 cases of dental emergency patients from 2019 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, with patients divided into the pre-SARS-COV-2 group and the SARS-COV-2 group, according to the date of their admission to the dental emergency center. The dental emergency patients’ demographic data, date and time, diagnoses, and treatment approaches were compared before and during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.
Results During the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, the number of dental emergency visits increased by 29.7%. The peak of the number of patients at weekends and at night is not obvious compared with the pre-SARS-COV-2 group. During the pandemic, males (n=286, 58.1%) were more likely to visit dental emergency centers for trauma than females (n=206, 41.9%) (P<0.05); females (n=242, 60.8%) were more likely to visit dental emergency centers for acute gingivitis and acute pericoronitis than males (n=156, 39.2%) (P<0.05). A major change in diagnosis was related to acute pulpitis (K04.0) and acute apical periodontitis (K04.4), which increased by 9.2%; acute gingivitis (K05.0) and acute pericoronitis (K05.2) increased by 3.5%; open wound of the lip and oral cavity (S01.5) decreased by 17.9%; other conditions (non-emergency diseases) increased by 6.8%, compared with the pre-SARS-COV-2 period. Among the treatment modalities, during the pre-SARS-COV-2 period, 304 patients (17.7%) received a prescription for antibiotics and analgesics, and 1485 (86.5%) received a prescription for local treatment. During the SARS-COV-2 period, 958 (39.2%) received a prescription for antibiotics and analgesics, and 1636 (67.0%) received a prescription for local treatment.
Conclusion SARS-COV-2 pandemic led to changes in the characteristics of dental emergency patients. Trauma, acute pulpitis, and acute periodontitis are the leading reasons patients refer to dental emergency centers. Dental emergency centers should optimize treatment procedures, optimize the staff, and reasonably allocate materials according to the changes to improve the on-site treatment capacity and provide adequate dental emergency care.
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Changes in the characteristics of dental emergencies under the influence of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A retrospective study
Posted 11 Jan, 2021
On 25 Dec, 2020
On 25 Dec, 2020
On 25 Dec, 2020
On 16 Dec, 2020
On 15 Nov, 2020
On 15 Nov, 2020
On 15 Nov, 2020
On 01 Nov, 2020
Received 26 Oct, 2020
On 19 Oct, 2020
Received 13 Sep, 2020
Invitations sent on 21 Aug, 2020
On 21 Aug, 2020
On 03 Aug, 2020
On 02 Aug, 2020
On 02 Aug, 2020
On 02 Jul, 2020
Received 28 Jun, 2020
Received 24 Jun, 2020
On 05 Jun, 2020
On 02 Jun, 2020
Invitations sent on 27 May, 2020
On 11 May, 2020
On 10 May, 2020
On 10 May, 2020
On 09 May, 2020
Background Further understanding of the distribution and changing characteristics of dental diseases is of great significance for all dental emergency centers for strengthening the medical staff’s treatment abilities and effective use of emergency resources in the face of public health emergencies involving highly infectious respiratory diseases.
Methods The medical records of 4158 cases of dental emergency patients from 2019 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, with patients divided into the pre-SARS-COV-2 group and the SARS-COV-2 group, according to the date of their admission to the dental emergency center. The dental emergency patients’ demographic data, date and time, diagnoses, and treatment approaches were compared before and during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.
Results During the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, the number of dental emergency visits increased by 29.7%. The peak of the number of patients at weekends and at night is not obvious compared with the pre-SARS-COV-2 group. During the pandemic, males (n=286, 58.1%) were more likely to visit dental emergency centers for trauma than females (n=206, 41.9%) (P<0.05); females (n=242, 60.8%) were more likely to visit dental emergency centers for acute gingivitis and acute pericoronitis than males (n=156, 39.2%) (P<0.05). A major change in diagnosis was related to acute pulpitis (K04.0) and acute apical periodontitis (K04.4), which increased by 9.2%; acute gingivitis (K05.0) and acute pericoronitis (K05.2) increased by 3.5%; open wound of the lip and oral cavity (S01.5) decreased by 17.9%; other conditions (non-emergency diseases) increased by 6.8%, compared with the pre-SARS-COV-2 period. Among the treatment modalities, during the pre-SARS-COV-2 period, 304 patients (17.7%) received a prescription for antibiotics and analgesics, and 1485 (86.5%) received a prescription for local treatment. During the SARS-COV-2 period, 958 (39.2%) received a prescription for antibiotics and analgesics, and 1636 (67.0%) received a prescription for local treatment.
Conclusion SARS-COV-2 pandemic led to changes in the characteristics of dental emergency patients. Trauma, acute pulpitis, and acute periodontitis are the leading reasons patients refer to dental emergency centers. Dental emergency centers should optimize treatment procedures, optimize the staff, and reasonably allocate materials according to the changes to improve the on-site treatment capacity and provide adequate dental emergency care.
Figure 1