Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric dental procedures in primary healthcare settings in Piracicaba, Brazil: an ecological study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to dental care, which may have affected pediatric dental care offered in primary healthcare settings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the quantity of dental procedures performed in primary healthcare for children aged 6 to 12 years, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an ecological study using data from the health information system of Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The variables considered were: coverage of first programmed dental consultation, restoration of permanent and deciduous teeth, topical fluoride application (individual per session), emergency care, and deciduous tooth extraction. Two periods were considered: period I (March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and period II (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021), before and during the pandemic, respectively. Comparisons between periods were made using the paired nonparametric Wilcoxon test with a significance level of 5%. There was an increase in emergency care from 15.4 to 32.4% (p = 0.0095) and a decrease in the number of restorations of deciduous teeth from 32.8 to 20.2% (p = 0.0217). The first programmed consultation showed a decrease of 9.60% (p = 0.0930) in period II. The COVID-19 pandemic has hindered access to primary dental care for children, impacting the quantity of emergency care, reducing restorations of deciduous teeth, and first programmed dental consultations. These findings highlight the need for strategies to ensure that pediatric dental care is not neglected during pandemics.