Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on admissions for orthodontic treatment: A comparison of 2020 and the previous three years

Yavan, Mehmet Ali

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented challenge to art, sport, education, finance and healthcare. The aim of this study was to compare demographic characteristics of individuals that applied for orthodontic treatment in the pandemic year (2020) and in previous years. METHODS: The retrospective study included patients who applied to a tertiary orthodontic referral center for orthodontic treatment between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020. Clinical and demographic characteristics including age, age groups (child, young adult, adult), gender, and numbers of monthly and annual applications were compared between the pre-pandemic (2017-2020) and post-pandemic (2020) periods. The daily average numbers of applications were compared between 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: The average number of monthly admissions was 240.69 ± 81.48 in the pre-pandemic period as opposed to 113.75 ± 88.89 in the year 2020 (p<0.001). The average number of monthly admissions decreased by 48.3% in 2020 compared to 2019, while the average number of daily admissions in 2020 decreased significantly in all months (p<0.05) except for January (p=0.613) compared to the months of the previous year. No significant difference was found between the pre-pandemic period and 2020 with regard to gender distribution (p=0.410). In all years, the numbers of admissions were higher in women compared to men and in children compared to adults. CONCLUSION: The results indicated a sharp decrease in the number of admissions for orthodontic treatment in the pandemic year (2020) compared to previous years.