Percepção do impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 na rotina de trabalho de Ortodontistas que atendem crianças e adolescentes no Brasil: um estudo observacional transversal

Abstract

At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world and, among the various consequences in society, caused changes in healthcare services, including in the routine of orthodontic care. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the perception of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the routine of Brazilian orthodontists/functional jaw orthopedists who treat children and adolescents, in the years 2020 and 2021. Data collection carried out through an anonymous online questionnaire hosted on the SurveyMonkey platform from December 2021 to May 2022. Initially, a pre-test of the questionnaire conducted with 14 dentists not included in the research. The research publicized through social media and emails. The questionnaire evaluated demographic characteristics, professional experiences, perception of the risk of procedures and fear of COVID-19, measures taken during the pandemic, and the impact of the pandemic on clinical practice in the years 2020 and 2021. Descriptive analysis performed and the chi-square test used for associations. Data analyzed using the Stata 16.0 software and the adopted significance level was 5%. A total of 178 professionals with post-graduation in Orthodontics/Functional Jaw Orthopedics who treated children and adolescents were included. The majority of the participants were female (81.46%), in the age group of 30-39 years (34.83%). The region with the highest participation was the South (60.11%), and most worked in large cities (44.57%), had 20 or more years of training in Dentistry (43.82%), and worked exclusively in the private sector (78.09%). More than half (62.14%) had already tested positive for COVID-19, and 19.57% reported moderate/high fear of COVID-19. Regarding the perception of the risk of COVID-19 contamination during treatments, 72.94% pointed out the removal of orthodontic appliance as "High Risk" and 82.74% the maintenance of orthopedic appliance as "Low Risk". Concerning teleorthodontics, 66.67% of professionals reported having performed it. According to the professionals, the greatest difficulty faced during the pandemic was the absence or abandonment of treatments (74.43%). Regarding the perception of financial difficulties, more than 95% stated that the pandemic generated additional costs to work, and more than half (51.59%) reported an increase in consultation fees. For 70%, the search for orthodontic/orthopedic evaluation decreased in 2020, and increased in 2021. The pandemic clearly impacted the work routine of Brazilian orthodontists who treat children and adolescents in Brazil. Such knowledge can help understand the impacts experienced by professionals and the long-term consequences of the pandemic on the specialty.