Bustati Nour, Rajeh Nada
Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
J World Fed Orthod. 2020 Dec;9(4):159-163. doi: 10.1016/j.ejwf.2020.10.003. Epub 2020 Oct 23.
The spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a major public health issue; most dental clinics were closed and millions of orthodontic patients were unable to complete their treatment. This study aimed to assess the challenges faced by patients receiving orthodontic treatment and their preferred solutions to overcoming these challenges during this pandemic.
An online questionnaire was developed and sent to patients receiving orthodontic treatment at a public or private clinic.
A total of 388 responses were analyzed: mean age 20.4 ± 4 years, 75% (291) female, and 58% (226) received their treatment at a public clinic. Of all participants, 27.3% (106) were still unable to attend their appointments and 69% (244) stated that closing of the clinic was the main reason for missing their appointments. Depending on their type of appliance, the patients faced different problems and chose multiple ways to deal with them. Most participants had fixed appliances, 84% (327), and only 21% (64) of them stated that they had no problem compared with 39% (11) and 36% (8) for removable appliance and clear aligner groups, respectively.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on orthodontic treatments. Almost every orthodontic patient had to stop attending their appointments, which put them in complicated situations and in fear of delayed treatment. Patients from a public clinic and patients with fixed appliances reported more problems than others. More attention should be giving to teleorthodontics; also orthodontists should prepare their patients to deal with some of the problems related to their appliances when possible.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的传播引发了一个重大的公共卫生问题；大多数牙科诊所关闭，数百万正畸患者无法完成治疗。本研究旨在评估正畸治疗患者在此次大流行期间面临的挑战以及他们克服这些挑战的首选解决方案。
设计了一份在线问卷，并发送给在公立或私立诊所接受正畸治疗的患者。
共分析了388份回复：平均年龄20.4±4岁，75%（291人）为女性，58%（226人）在公立诊所接受治疗。在所有参与者中，27.3%（106人）仍无法按时就诊，69%（244人）表示诊所关闭是错过就诊的主要原因。根据矫治器类型的不同，患者面临不同的问题并选择多种方式来应对。大多数参与者使用固定矫治器，占84%（327人），其中只有21%（64人）表示没有问题，而可摘矫治器组和隐形矫治器组的这一比例分别为39%（11人）和36%（8人）。
COVID-19大流行对正畸治疗产生了重大影响。几乎每位正畸患者都不得不停止按时就诊，这使他们陷入复杂的境地，并担心治疗延误。来自公立诊所的患者和使用固定矫治器的患者报告的问题比其他人更多。应更加关注远程正畸；此外，正畸医生应尽可能让患者做好应对与矫治器相关的一些问题的准备。
