The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Israeli Orthodontic Practice: A Clinic’s Activity and Patients’ Attitudes
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Sample
2.2. Appointment Logs
- T0—the pre-pandemic and pre-lockdown situation: 1 January–18 March 2020 (78 days);
- T1—the first lockdown (extreme lockdown): 19 March–7 May 2020 (50 days);
- T2—the first inter-lockdown period: 8 May–17 September 2020 (133 days);
- T3—the second lockdown: 18 September–17 November 2020 (61 days);
- T4—the second inter-lockdown period: 18 November–26 December 2020 (39 days);
- T5—the third lockdown: 27 December 2020–7 February 2021 (43 days);
- T6—the post-lockdown period: 8 February–8 March 2021 (29 days).
- The total number of appointments: a count of all scheduled appointments during the specified period;
- The adjusted number of appointments: the number of scheduled appointments relative to the period duration; this was calculated by dividing the total number of appointments by the number of days for the specified period;
- The number of missed appointments: a count of the missed and canceled appointments by either patients or orthodontists during a specified period;
- The number of emergency visits: the number of unscheduled appointments for a specified period;
- The percentage of missed appointments and emergency visits; they were calculated as the proportion of missed appointments and emergency visits from the total number of appointments in the specified period.
2.3. Questionnaire
2.4. Validation of the Questionnaire
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Appointment Logs
3.2. Questionnaire
3.2.1. Subjects’ Sex and Age
3.2.2. Subjects’ Treatment Stage
3.2.3. Subjects’ Responses
- Cluster 1 (Q1–Q2): Patients’ concerns and expectations (Figure 5A).
- Cluster 2 (Q3–Q5): Cooperation with the treatment protocol (Figure 5B).
- Cluster 3 (Q6–Q7): Contact with the orthodontist in dental care (Figure 5C).
- Cluster 4 (Q8–10): Emergency issues (Figure 5D).
4. Discussion
4.1. Orthodontic Clinics’ Activity and Patients’ Attitudes
4.2. Orthodontic Emergencies and Doctor Availability
5. Limitations of the Study
6. Conclusions
- Orthodontic clinics were able to operate at their full capacity between periods of lockdowns but needed to adhere to strict measures to reduce the risk of infection to both patients and staff.
- No significant change in the number of missed and canceled appointments was found during the pandemic.
- A majority of orthodontic patients believed that the length and quality of their treatment may be slightly affected due to the pandemic, and a small minority (10%) expected that significant and irreversible damage would occur, in addition to an extended treatment duration.
- The stage of the treatment was associated with patients’ anxieties and expectations; namely, the patients who approached the end of their treatment exhibited greater anxiety regarding the possibility of an extended treatment time.
- A significant increase in the number of orthodontic emergency appointments during lockdowns was not found in the current study.
- The remote monitoring of patients using various telecommunication tools is helpful, but it was found to be insufficient to manage the majority of the treatment emergencies. The main reason for unscheduled appointments was technical issues with an orthodontic appliance, which preferably should be solved by an expert within a clinic.
- Reducing the occurrence of orthodontic emergencies may reduce patients’ fears and may provide patients with greater motivation for improved cooperation during the lockdown period.
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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T-Period | Duration (Days) | Appointments (n) | Adjusted Appointments (n/Days) | Missed Appointments (% *) | Emergency Visits (% *) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T0 | 78 | 5252 | 67.33 | 539 (10.3%) | 238 (4.5%) |
T1 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
T2 | 133 | 8842 | 66.48 | 813 (9.2%) | 326 (3.7%) |
T3 | 61 | 1325 | 21.72 | 114 (8.6%) | 58 (4.4%) |
T4 | 39 | 5836 | 149.64 | 554 (9.5%) | 194 (3.3%) |
T5 | 43 | 1287 | 29.93 | 129 (10.0%) | 62 (4.8%) |
T6 | 29 | 4611 | 159.00 | 402 (8.7%) | 158 (3.4%) |
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Sella Tunis, T.; Ratson, T.; Matalon, S.; Abba, M.; Abramson, A.; Davidovitch, M.; Shpack, N. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Israeli Orthodontic Practice: A Clinic’s Activity and Patients’ Attitudes. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1965. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19041965
Sella Tunis T, Ratson T, Matalon S, Abba M, Abramson A, Davidovitch M, Shpack N. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Israeli Orthodontic Practice: A Clinic’s Activity and Patients’ Attitudes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(4):1965. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19041965
Chicago/Turabian StyleSella Tunis, Tatiana, Tal Ratson, Shlomo Matalon, Michael Abba, Alex Abramson, Moshe Davidovitch, and Nir Shpack. 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Israeli Orthodontic Practice: A Clinic’s Activity and Patients’ Attitudes" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 4: 1965. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19041965