J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg.  2023 Dec;49(6):339-346. 10.5125/jkaoms.2023.49.6.339.

Dental trauma trends in emergency care: a comparative analysis before, during, and after COVID-19

• Yang WJ
• Yoon JY

• KMID: 2550297
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5125/jkaoms.2023.49.6.339

Abstract

Objectives
This analysis details the characteristics of dental trauma in South Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (DC) pandemic and compares them in patients before and after COVID-19 (BC and AC, respectively).
Materials and Methods
Data were collected from medical records of patients who visited Seoul National University Bundang Hospital’s Emergency Dental Care Center during three 12-month periods: BC, DC, and AC (BC from March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020; DC from March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021; AC from March 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023). A retrospective review was conducted to investigate patient age, sex, time of visit, cause, and diagnosis. The study included 1,544 patients: 660 BC, 374 DC, and 510 AC.
Results
Significant difference in age and sex was not observed among the three periods; 1-9 years of age was the largest group (38.3% in BC, 29.6% in DC, and 27.8% in AC), and the percentage of male patients was greater than of female patients (male proportion as 63.5% in BC, 67.4% in DC, and 64.9% in AC). The number of patients generally peaked at a Saturday night in spring (for BC: May, Saturday, 18:00-19:59; for DC: March, Saturday, 18:00-19:59; for AC: April as the second most (October as the most peaked), Saturday, 20:00-21:59). The primary etiology of the dental trauma was identical in the three periods: falls, followed by sports. The most frequent diagnosis was laceration, followed by tooth avulsion and jaw fracture.
Conclusion
Significant differences were not found between the characteristics and patterns of dental trauma in the BC, DC, and AC periods. However, due to the pandemic and social distancing, activities decreased and associated dental trauma-related incidents declined.

Keyword

COVID-19; Tooth injuries; Emergency treatment; Tooth avulsion; Sports medicine

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The percentage of patient visits in each month before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 2 The percentage of patient visits in each day before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 3 The percentage of patients visited in each time range before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 4 The percentage of patients’ sex distribution before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 5 The percentage of etiology of patients before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (TA: traffic accident, BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 6 Types of sports that cause trauma to patients before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 7 The percentage of patients’ age distribution before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 8 The percentage of diagnosis of patients before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19, fx: fracture)

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  Fig. 9 Characteristic of sports that cause trauma to patients before, during, and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (BC: before COVID-19, DC: during COVID-19, AC: after COVID-19)

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  Fig. 10 The percentage of diagnoses for patients with e-kickboard-related trauma and drunken-related trauma. (fx: fracture)

Reference

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