Date: 07/17/2023

Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Aubri Kottek, Theekshana Fernando, Miranda Werts, Sally Zhou, Emily Shen, Elizabeth Mertz, and Simona Surdu

 

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on all aspects of the oral health care system. The temporary suspension of oral health services impacted patients seeking preventive and restorative dental services with enduring consequences. Dental providers faced threats to job security as well as to their physical safety since the oral health workforce was among the most at risk for contracting COVID-19 during provision of clinical services. The pandemic impacted the education and training of oral health students, jeopardizing the educational pipeline. In addition, economic hardships resulting from the pandemic were far reaching, affecting providers in all oral health settings. This report summarizes the immediate and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on four domains of the oral health care system: care delivery, regulation, education, and finance.