Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Epidemic on Dental Work

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed to study the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic on the number of patients attending the Department of Dental Service and the total number of patients recieving treatment of Roi Et Hospital. Data were collected from the statistics of patients who come to receive the services. As for the results, it was found that the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic during October 2019 - July 2020 had resulted in the decline of the number of patients attending hospital for treatment decreased. The Department of Dental Service was one of them. The decline had continued until now. In 2021, the decline was over 50%. There was marked decrease in the number of cases during April to July 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, at both the general hospital and the subdistrict health promoting hospitals. The specialized dental work was reduced, and high number of patients had postponed their treatment. In conclusion, this study found that during the COVID-19 epidemic since 2020, the number of patients receiving services in both Roi Et Hospital and Department of Dental has decreased. The main reasons for the decline might be the government’s policy to prevent the spread of infection by advising people to refrain from traveling during such periods as well as the concern of patients on the risk of acquiring infection during hospital visits, and thus some types of hospital services were suspended.