Descriptive Study of Dental Diseases among Patients Visiting for dental care in a Tertiary Care Center During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Recently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected all aspects of life globally. The COVID-19 pandemic is an extremely testing time for dental health professionals dealing with a high oral disease burden and being at higher risk of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to report the pattern of dental diseases among patients visiting the Department of Dentistry at a tertiary care center in Rajasthan, India. Methodology: A descriptive analysis of dental outpatient department (OPD) records of a tertiary care center during COVID-19 epidemic lockdown duration in India for demographics, diagnosis, the severity of pain, and triage for the urgency of treatment need was carried out. Data were analyzed using Epi info 7 software. Results: The majority of the patients (30%) were in the age group of 31–45 years and 14.47% of patients were >60 years. The triage of patients according to the need of procedures revealed the majority (77.76%) were in the urgent category, while 4.82% were in the emergency category. The majority of patients (67.22%) visited for endodontic treatment, with the main diagnosis of symptomatic apical periodontitis. The majority of diseases had moderate-to-severe pain at presentation. Conclusion: The majority of dental OPD patients reported moderate-to-severe pain of dental origin and required urgent care. The main endodontic diagnosis was symptomatic apical periodontitis.