141 Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Oral Health among Uninsured Populations

Dental services are extremely important to be provided at safety-net health care facilities because uninsured populations tend to otherwise not have access to oral care or education about the importance of maintaining healthy oral care. A major disturbance to many individuals’ semi-annual dental checkups occurred with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Because the pandemic disproportionately affected minority populations, a preliminary research hypothesis was that this population’s oral health was also disproportionately affected. Along with examining the statistics of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected underserved, low-income populations, the purpose of this study is to highlight the effects of the pandemic on this population, with a focus on their oral care. Data collection was conducted by distributing surveys to patients of the Maliheh Free Clinic from December 2021 through May 2022 and later analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Research findings reveal that 55.5% of the 254 total study participants needed dental care within the past 12 months but were unable to get treatment, with cost prohibitive reasons representing 60% of people. A study with the clinic conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2017 disclosed that 18.3% of the participants received preventive dental care in the past six months (Kamimura, Gull, Weaver, et al., 2017). During the pandemic, 28.7% of research participants visited a dentist in the past six months. Out of this 28.7%, 14.35%, or potentially fewer, visited the dentist seeking preventative care. Time and cost are major obstacles to receiving dental treatment. At the time of the previous study, the clinic provided limited dental care. During the pandemic, the clinic did not provide dental care in person, making it impossible to seek treatment. By comparing the pre-pandemic oral health habits of underserved populations to their current habits as the pandemic continues, my research aids to bridge the unknown gap of the pandemic’s true impact on the underserved and ultimately advocates for increased access to dental care at free clinics.

Kamimura, A., Gull, B., Weaver, S., Wright, L., W., Ashby, J., & Erickson, L. (2017). Association Between Health-Related Beliefs and Oral Health Behaviors Among Uninsured Primary Care Patients. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. Doi: 10.117/2150131916680887.