Dental Care Disrupted By COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dental care by making it difficult to get a dentist appointment for their children (3 times as common for children with Medicaid versus those with private dental coverage), reports one-third of parents (32%) as per the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at Michigan Medicine.

"Regular preventive dental care helps keep children's teeth healthy and allows providers to address any tooth decay or dental problems before they become more serious. Our findings highlight how the pandemic may have disrupted families' dental care and exasperated potential disparities among those with insurance barriers." says Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

‘COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dental care three times more common for children with Medicaid versus those with private dental coverage as reported by one-third of parents (32%) in a poll. On the contrary, 1 in 4 parents also reported improvements in their child's oral health habits at home during the pandemic. Thus extra steps to improve daily oral health habits are mandatory to maintain proper dental care in children.’

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60% of parents continued their child's preventive dental care check-ups. 24% reported ending up in a long wait time for an appointment (to limit the spread of COVID-19). And 7% could not get an appointment at all.

The present report had collected responses from 1,882 parents with at least one child ages 3-18.

Risk of COVID-19 during Dental Care

Dental Check-Up
It is commonly recommended that you visit the dentist twice a year to clean your teeth and gums and also do the basic check–ups.

Some parents also reported their concern about the risk of COVID-19 exposure during a dental visit as a reason for delaying the dental appointment for their child. 40% of the parents were reluctant to get the risk of being exposed, while 23% reported that the dentist's office was either closed or only seeing urgent patients.

The poll derived that most parents (67%) believe it's safe for their child to get dental care at this point in the pandemic, while 14% feel it's unsafe and 19% are unsure.

Prevent Tooth Decay in Children by Using Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are considered as the quickest, safest and pain-free method to prevent cavities. Dental sealants are also known as pit and fissure sealants.

Learning the types of precautionary measures that are taken during the dental visit such as patient and staff screenings and temperature checks, and having patients wait in their cars rather than the waiting room might help overcome their anxiety/fear and feel safe in bringing their children for their visit.

Dental Health Accessibility and Insurance Barriers

Top 7 Benefits of Good Dental Hygiene
Practicing good oral hygiene regularly is a good investment not only for teeth but also for overall well-being.

Barriers to dental appointments also differed with the type of insurance covered. 15% of parents of children with Medicaid dental coverage reported not being able to get a dental appointment, as compared to 4% of those with private dental insurance and 5% who had no coverage.

Generally, preventive dental services among Medicaid dental coverage are done via school or public dental clinics, but those services have decreased during the pandemic.

The cost was reported as a hindrance to dental care by 23% of parents who lacked dental insurance. Thus insurance barriers also pose unequal opportunities for the population to receive dental care.

Improvement in Dental Care

On the contrary, 1 in 4 parents reported improvements in their child's oral health habits at home during the pandemic such as frequent brushing (16%), flossing (11%), and use of fluoride rinse (9%), and less drinking of sugary beverages (15%).

Overall, 28% of parents say their child has made at least one positive change, including more parents of children with Medicaid (37%) or no dental coverage (32%) compared to private dental insurance (24%).

"We were pleased to find parents describing positive changes in how their children are taking care of their teeth at home. Daily brushing and flossing and avoiding sugary drinks are important ways to prevent tooth decay. Parents whose child is not getting regular dental check-ups should take extra steps to improve daily oral health habits, particularly if regular dental care has been delayed or disrupted," says Clark.

Source-Medindia