The impact of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on the Polish dental community’s standards of care—a six-month retrospective survey-based study

Abstract

Currently, SARS-CoV-2 is the primary pathogen worldwide, disrupting most of our eve-ryday activities. The study aim was to evaluate its impact on the Polish dental community, standards of care, health, and welfare. Methods: A GoogleForms survey was conducted among 303 dental practitioners. Results: Of respondents, 54.93%curbed the number of patients in the last six months, 34.21% declared no changes, and 10.86% reported an increase; whereas 70.7% of the respondents reported a treatment price increase within the same period (27.96% and 1.32% reported no changes and a decrease, respectively). Of the respondents, 15.5%did not close their businesses during the first wave of the pandemic. Most declared1or 2monthbreak, 30.7% and 34.7%, respectively. Some reported 3, 4, or 5month breaks (15.84%, 1.32%, and 0.99%, respectively), and only two respondents (0.66%) did not admit patients at all. Headache episodes were more frequent among female dentists before the pandemic; after the pandemic, headache frequency increased among both sexes.Tem-poromandibular disorders (TMDs) were more frequent among women (p = 0.017). Conclusions: Most Polish dentists followed SARS-CoV-2 recommendations and restricted their practices to ad-mitting only patients with pain or incomplete treatment. Decreased sleep parameters, head, back, and neck pain, were observed. This situation may affect dental health conditions inPolish society over time.