Assessment of Trends in Non-Restorative and Preventative Dental Treatment Pre- and Post-COVID-19: A Health Informatics Pilot Study.

IF 2 4区医学 Q2 PEDIATRICS

Children-Basel Pub Date : 2025-03-14 DOI:10.3390/children12030357

Tanner Gamble, Carter Wilkerson, Cindy Kim, Karl Kingsley, Victoria Sullivan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background/objectives: The implementation of preventive treatments in pediatric dental care has been a priority in recent years. Understanding the factors that influence the timing and frequency of childhood preventive treatments, such as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, are the focus of many health informatics researchers.

Methods: A retrospective study was approved to assess changes in specific preventive treatments at a pediatric dental school clinic (sealants, fluoride varnish, and silver diamine fluoride) in the three years prior to (2017-2019) and following the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022).

Results: A detailed analysis of these data revealed significant and unexpected shifts in these preventive services, with significant increases in dental sealants from pre- to post-pandemic (35.1%, p = 0.012), but corresponding decreases in other preventive treatments, such as the number of fluoride varnish (-37.6%, p = 0.011) and SDF treatments (-24.0%, p = 0.032), among this patient population.

Conclusions: These data suggest that the selective pursuit of particular preventive dental services and treatments rather than others and understanding these shifts might help health informatics and dental public health researchers understand which factors influenced these decisions and behaviors, such as long-term durability and efficacy (sealants) or changing public perceptions of safety (fluoride and SDF).

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covid -19前后非恢复性和预防性牙科治疗趋势评估：一项健康信息学试点研究

背景/目的：近年来，在儿童牙科保健中实施预防性治疗一直是一个优先事项。了解影响儿童预防治疗时机和频率的因素，如COVID-19大流行的影响，是许多卫生信息学研究人员关注的焦点。方法：批准了一项回顾性研究，以评估在2019冠状病毒病大流行（2020-2022）之前（2017-2019）和之后的三年里，某儿科牙科学校诊所的特定预防治疗（密封剂、氟化清漆和氟化二胺银）的变化。结果：对这些数据的详细分析揭示了这些预防服务的重大和意想不到的变化，从大流行前到大流行后，牙科密封剂的使用显著增加（35.1%,p = 0.012），但在这些患者群体中，其他预防治疗的数量相应减少，如氟化物清漆的数量（-37.6%,p = 0.011）和SDF治疗的数量（-24.0%,p = 0.032）。结论：这些数据表明，选择性地追求特定的预防性牙科服务和治疗，而不是其他的，了解这些变化可能有助于健康信息学和牙科公共卫生研究人员了解哪些因素影响了这些决定和行为，如长期耐久性和有效性（密封剂）或改变公众对安全性的看法（氟化物和SDF）。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Children-Basel PEDIATRICS-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

16.70%

发文量

1735

审稿时长

6 weeks

期刊介绍： Children is an international, open access journal dedicated to a streamlined, yet scientifically rigorous, dissemination of peer-reviewed science related to childhood health and disease in developed and developing countries. The publication focuses on sharing clinical, epidemiological and translational science relevant to children’s health. Moreover, the primary goals of the publication are to highlight under‑represented pediatric disciplines, to emphasize interdisciplinary research and to disseminate advances in knowledge in global child health. In addition to original research, the journal publishes expert editorials and commentaries, clinical case reports, and insightful communications reflecting the latest developments in pediatric medicine. By publishing meritorious articles as soon as the editorial review process is completed, rather than at predefined intervals, Children also permits rapid open access sharing of new information, allowing us to reach the broadest audience in the most expedient fashion.