179 - Impact of operating room referrals due to COVID-19 mandated closure

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted access to pediatric dental care by restricting access to dental services. This has resulted in a backlog of patients to be treated and there is an increased demand on operating rooms post-pandemic. The objectives are 1) to determine the difference in wait times from initial consult to operating room (OR) before versus after the pandemic-forced closure of the pediatric dentistry clinic and 2) to determine if there is an increase in OR referrals coming from the Pediatric Dentistry Emergency Clinic before versus after closure.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the dental clinic database. The data included 12 months of patients before and after the clinic closure. We are assessing wait time difference (in days) between initial OR referral and date of dental OR. We are also assessing the source of initial referral as either emergency visit (EMERG), new patient exam (NP), recall exam (RECALL), external referrals (REFER) or treatments (TREAT) such as a failed nitrous or sedation appointment. Two-sample t-test and linear regression analysis was used.

Results: Total of 1657 subjects were included in this study with no significant differences in demographics. Wait time mean significantly increased for patients with ORs after the closure. Emergency visits were statistically increased while NP exams were decreased after the lockdown.

Conclusion: This study shows the pandemic had significant impacts on access to care and wait times of healthcare delivery due to increased emergency visits and delayed wait times for dental surgery.