Dental Workload Reduction during First SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Lockdown in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Survey

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-03, Vol.18 (6), p.3164
• Main Authors: Wolf, Thomas Gerhard, Deschner, James, Schrader, Harald, Bührens, Peter, Kaps-Richter, Gudrun, Cagetti, Maria Grazia, Campus, Guglielmo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Communicable Disease Control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental care; Dentistry; Dentists; Disease control; Emergency medical care; Epidemics; Germany - epidemiology; GNP; Gross National Product; Humans; Hypotheses; Infections; Long-term effects; Pandemics; Polls & surveys; Population; Public transportation; Quarantine; Questionnaires; Regions; Rural areas; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Shelter in place; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Urban areas; Workload; Workloads
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063164

An observational cross-sectional survey was planned to analyze the weekly workload reduction of German dentists during lockdown due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were predominantly members of the Free Association of German Dentists and filled in an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to a total of 9416 dentists, with a response rate of 27.98% ( = 2635). Respondents were divided into seven macro areas by gross domestic product. Nearly two-thirds of dentists (65.16%) reported a reduction in their practice workload of more than 50% compared to the pre-pandemic period with statistically significant differences between German macro areas ( < 0.01). Weekly workload was reduced during the lockdown in 93.00% of study participants, while 55.33% dental care centers with multiple employed dentists under the direction of a non-dentist general manager had only a 40% reduction in weekly workload compared to a solo practice or a practice of a dentist with an employed dentist (30.24% and 28.39%, respectively). Dentists in Germany drastically reduced their practice activity during the first wave of the COVID-19 lockdown, both in rural and urban areas. Short, medium, and long-term effects of the pandemic on dental practices, dental staff as well as patient care need to be further investigated.