Dental Emergency Admissions in Emergency Oral Health Care Centers during COVID-19 Pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Pablo Alejandro Rodriguez, Patricio Gatti, María Lorena Cabirta, Nicolas Roman Baquerizo, Silvio Prada, Ariel Gualtieri, Sebastian Puia and Aldo Squassi
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Pablo Alejandro Rodriguez: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Endodoncia, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
Patricio Gatti: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Cirugía y Traumatología BucoMaxiloFacial I, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
María Lorena Cabirta: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Endodoncia, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
Nicolas Roman Baquerizo: Dental Servicios Odontológicos, Caseros, Buenos Aires 1678, Argentina
Silvio Prada: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Servicio de Urgencias y Orientación de Pacientes, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
Ariel Gualtieri: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Biofísica y Bioestadística, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
Sebastian Puia: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Cirugía y Traumatología BucoMaxiloFacial I, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina
Aldo Squassi: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Odontología, Cátedra de Odontología Preventiva y Comunitaria, Buenos Aires 1122, Argentina

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-9

Abstract: This study aimed to describe patients’ demographic characteristics and treatment delivered in private and public dental emergency clinics and to compare them with a pre-pandemic period. A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out on patients attending the University Dental Hospital of the University of Buenos Aires and on one private dental clinic, situated in Buenos Aires, between March and June of 2019 and 2020. The sample considered all the patients’ medical records of those requiring emergency dental treatment at these centers during that period. We systematize the treatments required and delivered by the emergency providers into categories. In 2019, 36,071 patients were treated at the university dental hospital and the private clinic. In 2020, 7485 patients received emergency treatment, showing a fivefold reduction. During a pre-pandemic period, in 2019, both oral care centers provided 44,894 treatments, around three times the treatments provided in 2020 during the same period. We have found significant differences in the age groups of people who required emergency treatment in the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period. During the pandemic period, the most represented types of treatment were radiographic exams (3061) and tooth extractions (2583). Conversely, during the pre-pandemic period, the most frequent treatments were radiographic examinations (16,649) and general consultations (10,591). The percentages of all types of treatments differ significantly between the two years except for pediatric consultations and prosthetics emergencies. As the pandemic is still an ongoing sanitary problem, urgent dental care patterns should be considered.

Keywords: COVID-19; dental health services; delivery of health care; dental emergency; Argentina; global pandemic; Sars-CoV-2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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