COVID-19 challenges to dentistry in the new pandemic epicenter: Brazil

A nationwide survey of dentists was carried out in Brazil, a new pandemic epicenter, to analyze how dental coverage has been affected (public versus private networks), changes in routine and burdens, and how the local prevalence of COVID-19 affects dental professionals. Dentists were recruited via email and an Instagram® campaign. Responses to an online questionnaire were collected May 15–24, 2020. COVID-19 case/death counts in the state where respondents work was used to test associations between contextual status and decreases in weekly appointments, fear of contracting COVID-19 at work, and current work status (α=0.05). Over 10 days, 3,122 responses were received, with region, gender, and age distributions similar to those of dentists in Brazil. Work status was affected for 94% of dentists, with less developed regions being more impacted. The impact on routine was high or very high for 84%, leading to varied changes to clinic infrastructure, personal protective equipment use, patient screening, and increased costs. COVID-19 patients had been seen by 5.3% of respondents, and 90% reported fearing contracting COVID-19 at work. Multilevel statistics showed that greater case and death rates (1000 cases or 100 deaths/million inhabitants) in one’s state increased the odds of being fearful of contracting the disease (by 18% and 25%). For each additional 1000 cases or 100 deaths, the odds of currently not working or treating emergencies increased by 36% and 58%. The reduction in patients seen weekly per dentist was greater in public (38.7±18.6) than in private clinics (22.5±17.8). This study provides early evidence of three major impacts of the pandemic on dentistry in Brazil: increasing inequalities due to coverage differences between public and private networks; adoption of new clinical routines, which are associated with an economic burden; and associations of regional COVID-19 incidence and mortality with fear of contracting the disease at work.