Research reveals DIY dentistry due to impact of pandemic

A Teesside University researcher has revealed the local impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on oral health, with some people resorting to do-it-yourself dentistry.

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student Rachael England examined the impact of the early pandemic lockdown and subsequent closure of dental practices on the oral health habits of local communities across Teesside.

Rachael said: “The Covid-19 lockdown had a serious negative impact on oral health. For many people oral hygiene routine was interrupted, and people were brushing and cleaning between their teeth less often.

“Dental practices being closed for such a long period of time was unprecedented and sadly, people had to resort to do-it-yourself dentistry. Of the people who experienced dental pain, nine percent reported this as severe pain.

“Sales of temporary filling materials shot up during the lockdown and one participant contacted me to say she feels let down by the healthcare system after being unable to access an emergency dentist and had resorted to extracting her own tooth. We can only imagine how traumatic that experience would have been.

“There are many stories like this across the country now and I do worry what the longer-term psychological impact of these events might be.”

She added: “Good oral health is essential for good overall health and worryingly, 45 percent of participants felt the lockdown had a negative impact on their oral health and now with dental clinics facing a severe backlog of patients, people will find it difficult to access oral healthcare.”

The research highlights the serious impact which the stay-at-home orders had on the health and wellbeing of local communities and how it has negatively affected people’s daily routines and oral hygiene habits.

The findings also reveal that the oral health of people aged under 30 was most severely affected, and fewer than 50 percent of respondents had visited a dentist in the year before the pandemic.

Rachael added: “People missed both routine and emergency oral healthcare. This will create an increase in the levels of oral diseases among the community. Not being able to access care in an emergency could also contribute to a loss of trust in the profession as people felt unsupported.

“The British Dental Association highlighted the crisis caused by the closure of dental practices, leading to 30 million missed appointments and people are finding it extremely difficult to access oral healthcare. This is causing a problem for people trying to attend routine and emergency appointments and could take quite some time to catch up.

“As oral health and public health professionals we need to work with advocates and policymakers to urgently increase access to oral healthcare services for people in Teesside.”

Rachael’s research, which has been supervised by Professor Vida Zohoori and Dr Lawrence Nnyanzi from the University’s School of Health & Life Sciences, recently earned prestigious recognition, achieving first prize in The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) and Borrow Foundation Early Career Researcher Award.

The award is sponsored by BASCD and the Borrow Foundation who are actively engaged in promoting oral health and disease prevention.

Professor Vida Zohoori said: “The closure of dental clinics due to Covid-19 severely impacted access to oral healthcare. Rachael’s work helps to understand the impact of the UK lockdown on adults’ oral hygiene behaviour and oral healthcare access in Tees Valley in England.

“We hope that Rachael’s work provides insights that will be helpful for oral health and public health professionals to understand the effect of lockdown on their patients and communities’ dietary choices and the potential impact on oral health and the support they will require to overcome the long-term effects.

“This is a very competitive and prestigious award and I am very pleased that Rachael has won it for Teesside University.”

Rachael now hopes to present her research to the European Association of Dental Public Health conference in 2022.

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