Guerreiro, E.; Botelho, J.; Machado, V.; Proença, L.; Mendes, J.J.; Manso, A.C. Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study. J. Clin. Med.2024, 13, 1164.
Guerreiro, E.; Botelho, J.; Machado, V.; Proença, L.; Mendes, J.J.; Manso, A.C. Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study. J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13, 1164.
Guerreiro, E.; Botelho, J.; Machado, V.; Proença, L.; Mendes, J.J.; Manso, A.C. Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study. J. Clin. Med.2024, 13, 1164.
Guerreiro, E.; Botelho, J.; Machado, V.; Proença, L.; Mendes, J.J.; Manso, A.C. Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study. J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13, 1164.
Abstract
In 2020, following the World Health Organization's declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, dental practices faced unprecedented disruptions globally. This retrospective cross-sectional study, conducted at a leading university dental hospital in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, investigated the impact of these disruptions on dental caries. The study, spanning June 2019 to June 2021, included a full-mouth X-ray examination, along with sociodemographic, behavioral, and medical data. Our sample comprised 3,380 participants (2,007 females and 1,373 males), aged 18 to 99 years, divided into pre-lockdown and post-lockdown groups. We employed the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index to measure dental caries. Our findings revealed that nearly 90% of participants in both groups experienced dental caries, indicating a statistically significant difference between the pre-lockdown and post-lockdown periods. However, the impact of COVID-19 confinement varied among different demographic sectors, with age, educational background, and professional status emerging as the key determinants. This study highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the impact of the pandemic on oral health, emphasizing the role of sociodemographic factors in shaping dental health outcomes during such global health crises.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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