How did COVID-19 affect the dental industry?

Almost every business in America has been affected by COVID-19 in one way or another. This includes service-oriented businesses, sales, hospitality, utilities, and especially healthcare. And while there is a major concern over healthcare today, dental care shares more of it’s drawbacks to other businesses. According to Dr. Kami Hoss, the dental industry has been hit hard given that most operations were forced to stop due to public health concerns. And given the nature of how the virus spreads, dental health professionals believe that it was the right call.

Thousands of dental facilities have been closed or are currently operating under stricter policies since social distancing cannot be achieved when someone goes to see the dentist. This sudden halt in operations have led to practices reaching for their emergency funds in order to pay bills and personnel. Income is severely limited given that unlike general physicians, dentists can’t make house calls.

On the patients side of things, thousands of procedures have been delayed for several months due to the pandemic. This could pose as a problem for people with time bound procedures like the removal of braces. Similarly, the situation poses as a bane for people who are currently suffering from dental problems that require dental surgery. According to Dr. Kami Hoss, people should only consider going to the dentist during actual emergencies. For now, dentists advise that people take extra care of their teeth by continuing their daily oral hygiene practices in order to avoid the need of having to see a dentist for now.

Dr. Kami Hoss holds a master’s in craniofacial biology and a doctorate in dental surgery. Dr. Hoss also served as an associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Orthodontics Department. For more reads on the dental industry and oral hygiene, visit this blog.