Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Emergency Admissions in an Urgent Dental Care Service in North Italy

Cagetti, Maria Grazia; Balian, Araxi; Camoni, Nicole; Campus, Guglielmo (2021). Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Emergency Admissions in an Urgent Dental Care Service in North Italy. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), pp. 1-10. MDPI 10.3390/ijerph18041812

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A retrospective study was performed to verify if the number of admissions for urgent dental care in the Urgent Dental Care Service of San Paolo Hospital in Milan (Italy) was directly related to the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Different periods were analyzed: 25 March– 5 April 2019 (pre-COVID); 23 March–3 April 2020 (lockdown); 8 June–19 June 2020 (reopening); and November 9–November 20 (second wave). Raw data regarding admissions, diagnoses, and treatments were extracted. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed. The survey included 901 admissions, 285 in pre-COVID, 93 during lockdown, 353 in reopening, and 170 in the second wave. In each time period, statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of each kind of diagnoses (χ2(3) = 20.33 p = 0.01 for endodontic emergencies, χ2(3) = 29.05 p < 0.01 for cellulitis/phlegmon, χ2(3) = 28.55 p < 0.01 for periodontal emergencies, Fisher’s Exact Test p < 0.01 for trauma, and χ2(3) = 59.94 p < 0.01 for all other kinds of diagnosis). A remarkable increase in consultations (+186.36%) and other treatments (+90.63%) occurred during reopening. Tooth extraction was the most frequently delivered treatment, but suffered the largest reduction during lockdown (−79.82%). The COVID-19 pandemic has highly affected dental activity in north Italy, underling the weaknesses of a private dental system in a pandemic scenario.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > School of Dental Medicine > Department of Preventive, Restorative and Pediatric Dentistry

UniBE Contributor:

Campus, Guglielmo Giuseppe

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1661-7827

Publisher:

MDPI

Language:

English

Submitter:

Guglielmo Giuseppe Campus

Date Deposited:

03 Jan 2022 14:38

Last Modified:

07 Aug 2024 15:45

Publisher DOI:

10.3390/ijerph18041812

PubMed ID:

33673335

Uncontrolled Keywords:

COVID-19; dentistry; public health services; Italy

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/162466

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/162466

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