Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on orthodontic care in Finland

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate which preventive measures were made in orthodontic practices in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these measures affected the course of orthodontic treatment. Material and methods: In January 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to the members of the Orthodontic Division of the Finnish Dental Association Apollonia (n=361). An additional inquiry was sent to the chief dental officers of 15 health centers. Results: A total of 99 (27.4%) clinically active members responded to the questionnaire. Of them, 97.0% had made changes in their practices, e.g. using additional protective gear such as visors (82.8%), incorporating preoperative mouthwashes (70.7%), limiting the use of turbine (68.7%) and ultrasonics (47.5%). Two of three respondents reported temporary lockdowns (mean 1.9 months, range 0.3 - 5.0 months), during which some occlusions regressed (30.2%) or relapsed to a previous stage of treatment (9.5%). Every second treatment was delayed from 2.5 to 6 months and during this study, 59.6% of respondents reported that some treatments were still late on schedule. One in three respondents had used teleorthodontics because of the pandemic. Conclusions: Preventive measures and changes in treatment procedures were obvious. Duration of orthodontic treatments was often prolonged, e.g. because of lockdowns. New methods like teleorthodontics were introduced for coping with the increasing workload.