COVID-19 Impact on the Dental Care System

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on all aspects of the oral health care system. Patients, dental providers, educators, and regulators are being asked to rapidly adjust to the COVID-19 crisis with almost no roadmap.

Organizations, associations, and government agencies are all working on responses to the problem in their respective areas of expertise yet often with little awareness of concurrent changes in interrelated systems.

We are dedicated to sharing information on immediate impact to the dental care system in the following 4 domains:

Care Delivery Financing Regulation Education

Education

Immediate impact of closures on the dental delivery system across multiple sectors (private practice, dental service organizations [DSOs], safety net, community-based)
Strategies being used to reopen and short-term impact on dental providers, their practices, and patients
Forecasts for changes which may have longer term impact on care delivery, such as widespread use of telehealth and emphasis on minimally invasive dentistry
Differential impact on safety net services, access, and workforce

33 Results

January 3, 2022

Dental Education Practices During COVID-19: A Scoping Review

Published in the Journal of Dental Education, this scoping review explores a large body of research over a longer period to understand approaches taken to provide dental education during COVID-19, and to suggest future applications of virtual learning in dental education. Researchers identified several advantages to online dental education including improved accessibility, willingness to accept new assessment techniques, and lower anxiety levels. Barriers identified include issues with technology, classroom time management, and absence of hands-on training.

December 1, 2021

Use of a Knowledge-Based Governance Approach to Plan a Post-COVID-19 Predoctoral Dentals

Published in the Dentistry Journal, this article reports the findings of a task force that aimed to assess changes in predoctoral dental curriculum that resulted from COVID-19. The authors also provide recommendations for the future. Researchers concluded that the knowledge-based governance approach employed is an effective approach to address issues in the dental school environment.

October 28, 2021

The Benefits of Incorporating Active Learning Into Online, Asynchronous Coursework in Dental Physiology

Published in Advances in Physiology Education, this study assesses the effectiveness of active learning strategies in an online, asynchronous environment on student performance, attentiveness, and satisfaction levels. Results indicate that dental students had more positive perceptions of online recordings that incorporated active learning strategies, with higher perceived effectiveness of the lecturer, ability to pay attention, motivation to study, and confidence with the material.

September 29, 2021

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthodontics in Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Programs in the United States

Published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, this study characterizes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre-doctoral and post-doctoral orthodontic education. Researchers identified that as less patient care was delivered, there were fewer opportunities for learners whose clinical observation and assisting hours were limited.

September 27, 2021

Effect of COVID-19 on Training and Mental Health of Oral Medicine Residents in North America

Published in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology, this study assesses resident and faculty perception of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the training experience, education, and psychological well-being of oral medicine residents. Researchers concluded that despite constraints, the pandemic provided an opportunity for faculty, residents, and the program leadership to continue clinical activities, didactic training, and research productivity through virtual means and a hybrid delivery care model.

September 16, 2021

Online Learning During COVID-19 Produced Equivalent or Better Student Course Performance As Compared With Pre-pandemic: Empirical Evidence From a School-wide Comparative Study

Published in BMC Medical Education, this study examines students’ perceived effectiveness of online courses, explores pedagogical factors impacting their acceptance of the online courses, and empirically evaluates the impact of online learning on students’ performance. Results indicate that most online courses were well accepted by students and approximately 80% of study participants wanted to continue some online instruction post pandemic.

May 12, 2021

ADEA Explores the Impact of COVID-19 on US Dental Schools

ADEA Office of Policy and Education Research shares key findings of a survey conducted on 67 US dental schools from November 2020-January 2021. Survey questions cover patient visits, budget cuts, and infrastructure investments, all of which reveal unique challenges that dental schools faced during a global pandemic.

May 7, 2021

Crisis and Opportunity: COVID-19 Pandemic Kick Starts Changes for Dental Community

ADEA reports on federal and state-wide changes that impact the dental education community because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes highlighted include state expansion of tele-dentistry, Medicaid reimbursement of telehealth, vaccine administration and rollout, and licensure examination and portability.

May 1, 2021

Resilient Dental Schools, Better Oral Health Care for the Underserved

ADEA Policy Research reports on the results of a nation-wide survey regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on US dental schools. The report covers challenges including decline in patient visits, budget cuts, and faculty and staff lay-offs.

February 26, 2021

Dentists of Tomorrow 2020: An Analysis of the Results of the 2020 ADEA Survey of US Dental School Seniors

The study published in the Journal of Dental Education analyzes the results of the 2020 ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors, 2020 Graduating Class. Survey responses from the 2020 class were compared to their 2015 counterparts.

January 6, 2021

COVID-19 and Dental and Dental Hygiene Students’ Career Plans

A study published in the Journal of Dental Research strives to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the career plans of dental and dental hygiene students graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. The survey conducted in the study also explores the connection between the level of perceived stress and resilience in their students who have decided to make career changes due to the pandemic.

December 1, 2020

ADEA Trends in Dental Education 2020-2021

ADEA reveals trends in dental education with data compiled from ADA, ADEA, and other sources. Statistics on the impact of the pandemic on dental students’ professional plans is included.

November 20, 2020

Dental Licensure by State Map

The Coalition for Modernizing Dental Licensure releases an interactive map describing dental board and license requirements. Initial licensure requirements are filtered by state or portability. COVID-19 updates and dental board contact info is included.

November 5, 2020

Knowledge of dental academics about the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country online survey

BMC Medical Education publishes an article revealing the results of a multi-country survey conducted on the knowledge of dental academics about the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 2,045 dental professionals spanning over 25 countries participated in the survey, including 175 US dental educators, dental students and dentists.

October 30, 2020

A virtual community health field project during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Journal of Dental Education publishes an article describing the efforts of dental educators at University of the Pacific in introducing a new virtual community health project to promote dental public health education amidst COVID-19 pandemic. Students participate in a flipped-classroom, team-based learning environment discussing topics such as community health and dental care access for underserved populations.

October 15, 2020

ADEA, Henry Schein, and FEMA Join Forces on Mask Donation for US Dental Schools and Programs

ADEA, Henry Schein, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) create an initiative to distribute more than 3 million KN95 masks to dental schools and allied dental education programs to be used for patient care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 14, 2020

National Board Guides

ADA’s Department of Testing Services (DTS), on behalf of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), the ADA Board of Trustees, the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL), and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), provides 2020 National Board Guides amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 9, 2020

Rising to the Challenge: Dental Schools Join the Fight Against COVID-19

Working

October 6, 2020

UCLA Dentistry Receives Funding to Develop a Saliva-based COVID-19 Infection and Antibody Test

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry announces a grant award from National Institute of Health’s Rapid Accelerated Diagnostic (RADx) initiative for developing a newer and more effective saliva-based COVID-19 infection and antibody test. UCLA School of Dentistry collaborates with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to develop this new technology amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

September 21, 2020

Dental School Post COVID-19

The Academy of General Dentistry interviews the dental community regarding the dental school experience during a pandemic. University dental students describe COVID-19 screening protocols and clinic changes. Faculty from various university dental programs describe their biggest challenges.

September 18, 2020

Health Department of DC—Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking Accepting Nonpatient-based Examinations and Waiving Live Continuing Education Requirements for Dentists

The District of Columbia Department of Health introduces emergency adoption of nonpatient-based dental licensure examination and approved online course completion to fulfill continued dental education requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 14, 2020

How Minnesota Is Adapting Dental Therapy Education During the Pandemic

The Pew Charitable Trusts report the critical need for dental therapy education amidst COVID-19. The publication describes the role that dental therapists play in the oral health workforce, specifically in the state of Minnesota.

August 3, 2020

A Pandemic Resource Guide for Dental Education

ADEA creates a resource guide for dental education. Topics include: Risk and Crisis Management in Higher Education; Academic Advisement Resources; Admissions and Enrollment Management; Career Services; Community College Resources; Financial Aid Resources; Interprofessional Teaching, Learning and Research; Student Testing Services, Well-being Resiliency; CDC and Prevention Resources; and Medicaid Clinical Resources.

July 29, 2020

Where Are We Now? Reflecting on COVID-19 and Its Impact on Dental Education

ADEA presents a webinar panel of deans and faculty members from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, and Texas A&M College of Dentistry. They each offer insight into the changes that are working for them at their respective schools. Discussion covers best practices for virtual learning, including introductions of virtual clinic curriculum and competency assessments, virtual preclinical endodontics modules, and virtual exam proctoring.

July 26, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Dental Education

A narrative reporting the changes adapted in dental schools in response to the pandemic. Challenges and proposed solutions are included regarding topics such as safety of students/faculty/staff, continuity and quality of dental education, and keeping up with guidance.

July 24, 2020

ICE Continues March Guidance for Fall School Term

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issues guidance for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Over 1-million nonimmigrant students pursuing education in the US are impacted as March 2020 guidance states that new or initial nonimmigrant student status after March 9 will not be able to enter the US to enroll in a US school for the fall term to pursue a full course of study that is 100 percent online.

June 29, 2020

In an Era of Uncertainty: Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Education

This article published in the Journal of Dental Education surveys learners in dental school about their experiences related to COVID-19. Survey questions focus on concerns surrounding protocol for reopening of dental schools, academics, and physical/mental/financial health.

June 11, 2020

Virtual Exam Proctoring

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) presents a webinar panel of faculty from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Texas A&M College of Dentistry, and Cabrillo College Dental Hygiene Program discussing concerns when hosting exams during virtual learning. Topics discussed includes exam proctoring software, proctoring instructions and format, training for faculty, and key call outs of their respective experiences.

June 3, 2020

Latest Covid updates

The American Board of Pediatric Dentistry informs the dental community about changes in exam dates and process changes regarding the qualifying examination and oral clinical examination due to COVID-19. Changes to the qualifying examination include 2 different delivery options including live online proctoring (LOP) and Scantron Network of Testing Centers.

June 1, 2020

School Dental Programs Face Stiff Challenges

DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) releases a new report describing the impact of the pandemic on School-Based Oral Health Programs (SBOHPs) and predicts the implications it has on the oral health outcomes of children.

April 14, 2020

Disruptions During a Pandemic: Gaps Identified and Lessons Learned

The Journal of Dental Education publishes a paper to describe the areas of dental education impacted by the pandemic. The article lists the immediate actions taken to protect the safety of faculty, staff, students, and patients. The author discusses lessons learned and implications for positive changes in dental curriculum and preparedness for public health emergencies.

January 1, 2020

Virtual Clinic Curriculum and Competency Assessments (Part One)

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) hosts a webinar with faculty from University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (Penn Dental Medicine) to discuss changes to clinic curriculum and competency assessments amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics covered include a timeline of planning for clinic closures, platforms used to host class and assessments, and changes to the clinical and specialty rotation curriculum to adapt to the new virtual learning environment.