NYC Gazette

Dental office closures during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have been linked to a significant increase in emergency room visits by children with dental issues, according to a study conducted by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry. The research, published in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, indicates that there was a 62-percent rise in emergency department visits for dental problems among children covered by Medicaid.

The study highlights how public health measures implemented in March 2020, which led to the closure of dental offices except for emergencies, impacted families' access to dental care. As hospitals were overwhelmed with critically ill patients due to COVID-19, researchers aimed to determine if those with urgent dental needs were also turning to emergency rooms.

"Emergency departments are not well equipped to treat dental conditions," said Shulamite Huang, a health economist and assistant professor at NYU College of Dentistry. "Visiting an emergency department for tooth pain can be a waste of health care system resources—resources that are in short supply during times of crisis."

Researchers analyzed Medicaid claims data for children under 19 across New York State. They compared emergency department visits for non-traumatic dental issues before and during the pandemic. The data revealed an increase from 3.7 percent of ER visits focusing on dental issues in 2019 to 6 percent in 2020.

Huang noted that young children up to age nine experienced this surge most acutely, visiting emergency departments twice as often as they did before the pandemic.

"The sizable changes in the emergency department dental care of very young children suggest that this population was likely to fall through holes in the dental safety net," Huang stated.

The study points out several reasons for these findings, including challenges parents faced determining if their children's pain constituted an emergency and difficulties finding dentists who accept Medicaid and treat young children.

To prepare for future crises that could stress hospitals similarly, researchers recommend considering options like limited hospital-based dental services or urgent care clinics within hospitals. Ensuring Medicaid-covered children have access to community dentists could prevent painful issues and provide necessary emergency care.

Other contributors to this research include Scarlett Wang from NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Heather Gold from NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The study received support from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (K25 DE028584 and K25 DE028584-02S1).