The present descriptive research focused on determining the traits of patients who required endodontic treatment during the COVID-19 lockdown and various stages of unlocking in Mumbai metropolitan region. The descriptive analysis was carried out by examining the patients who were registered at Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai during four phases of lockdown (25 March to 31 May 2020) and eight phases of unlock (1 June 2020 to 31 January 2021). The evaluation was performed by evaluating the number of days and the overall number of patients reported for endodontic treatment for the first and subsequent visits. Each patient underwent intensive triage, which included taking their body temperature, oxygen saturation level, and travel history. The sex, age, and endodontic diagnosis of the offending tooth were also reported. The pain parameters were analyzed using a verbal numerical rating score (VNRS). During the lockdown phases, 297 patients seeking endodontic treatment visited the hospital over a total of 26 working days, and during the unlock phases, 16,195 patients visited the hospital over 189 working days. The average age of the patients that visited were 31-40 years of age (57.23%). The mean VNRS score was 5.85 ± 1.62. For both the lockdown and unlock periods, a significantly higher percentage of males visited dental school (p < 0.001). When compared to other stages, the number of patients attending during lockdown phase 4 (55.56%) and unlock phase 8 (32.35%) was the highest. The majority of endodontic emergency diagnoses were reversible pulpitis (36.5%) and symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (33.14%), all of which had higher mean VNRS (p < 0.05). Of the 49 patients that reported with COVID-19 symptoms, 11 tested positive. During the lockdown and unlock periods, 12 of the 41 treating workers tested positive. Personal protective equipment and patient screening are critical in shielding clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; Mumbai metropolitan region; endodontic emergency; epidemiologic investigation; lockdown; verbal numerical rating scale; vital pulp therapy.