The Evaluation of Oral Health in Patients Undergoing Dental Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The association between oral cavities and the SARS-CoV-2 virus is an issue commonly analyzed and studied. In our study, the relationship between the dental status and social environment of patients receiving treatment during the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination was analyzed. Methods: This retrospective study was based on 2034 dental records obtained from the Institute of Dentistry of the Medical University of Lodz. The collected data pertaining to caries enabled the assessment of the oral cavity health of individual patients and could be compared with the undergoing vaccination against COVID-19. Results: The statistically significant results showed that unvaccinated patients compared to vaccinated patients had more teeth with caries, less teeth extracted due to caries, more teeth in total, and lower DMFT and dental treatment indexes. It was shown that, with increased age, the value of the DMFT index increases. Statistically significant differences between patients living in rural and urban areas were as follows: rural residents showed lower DMFT and filling indexes. Conclusions: No direct relationship between the vaccination of patients and oral health has been proven. Statistically, the group of vaccinated patients are significantly older than the unvaccinated, and the significant differences between the above groups are most likely due to the difference in the average age of patients in the two groups. Our study showed a lower average DMFT index and a higher treatment intensity index in people from the countryside compared to those living in a large city. In this respect, our study stands in opposition to the existing research findings.