2020 trends in dental office visits during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has created barriers to the delivery of health care services, including dental care. This study sought to quantify the change in dental visits in 2020 compared with 2019.

Methods: This retrospective, observational study examined the percentage change in weekly visits to dental offices by state (inclusive of the District of Columbia), nationally, and by county-level COVID-19 incidence using geographic information from the mobile applications of 45 million smartphones during 2019 and 2020.

Results: From March through August 2020, weekly visits to dental offices were 33% lower, on average, than in 2019. Weekly visits were 34% lower, on average, in counties with the highest COVID-19 rates. The greatest decline was observed during the week of April 12, 2020, when there were 66% fewer weekly visits to dental offices. The 5 states (inclusive of the District of Columbia) with the greatest declines in weekly visits from 2019 through 2020, ranging from declines of 38% through 53%, were California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Conclusions: Weekly visits to US dental offices declined drastically during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although rates of weekly visits rebounded substantially by June 2020, rates remain about 20% lower than the prior year as of August 2020. These findings highlight the economic challenges faced by dentists owing to the pandemic.

Practical implications: States exhibited widespread variation in rates of declining visits during the pandemic, suggesting that dental practices may need to consider different approaches to reopening and encouraging patients to return depending on location.

Keywords: Access to care; dental health services; dental offices; utilization of care.