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- Title
Highly educated patients have lower dental compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study.
- Authors
Chou, Yu-Hsiang; Lin, Ying-Chu; Lee, Mei-Hsuan; Huang, Yu-Ting; Liu, Pei-Feng; Huang, Chung-Lin; Hu, Kai-Fang
- Abstract
Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly changed medical habits, and dental clinics have been forced to adapt. This study explored the pandemic-induced changes in patient utilization of dental services to assist practitioners in responding efficiently to similar public crises as references in the future. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the correlation between patient profiles and dental visits attendance within 2 months before and during the outbreak. Results: A total of 332 patients, 210 women and 122 men (total number of visits: 1068) were enrolled in this study. A significantly lower attendance rate was noted during the COVID-19 period (70.3%) than prior to the pandemic (83.4%). The rate of return visits for patients with a high education level during the COVID-19 period was significantly reduced from 96.5 to 93.1%. In addition, the number of days between two visits significantly increased during the pandemic. Conclusions: Our results indicate that, during the pandemic period, the attendance rates of return dental appointments decreased, and the rate of missed appointments for patients with a high educational levels was higher than that of patients with a low educational level. Clinical relevance: Preventive management of these patients who are easy to miss dental appointments may enable more effective use of medical resources.
- Subjects
CONFIDENCE intervals; MULTIPLE regression analysis; RETROSPECTIVE studies; T-test (Statistics); CHI-squared test; PATIENT compliance; MEDICAL appointments; ODDS ratio; COVID-19 pandemic; DENTAL hygiene
- Publication
BMC Oral Health, 2022, Vol 22, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1472-6831
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s12903-022-02307-x