“Lessons to Be Learned After the Storm”- Characteristics and Management of Dental Emergency Patients During COVID-19 Outbreak in Riyadh – a Retrospective Study

Background/Objectives: During the initial days in the COVID -19 pandemic, there existed no hospital-based policy or guidelines for management of dental emergency patients. The phase was marred with indecision and anxiety in general for dental patients and doctors as oral cavity along with saliva and indirect contact served as a harbor of transmission for the virus. Methods: The present study is retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive in nature; the data was retrieved from the patients seeking emergency dental services during the COVID -19 lockdown (23rd of March 2020 to 23rd of April 2020) in primary and tertiary public hospitals of the National Guard Health Affairs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 151 dental patients attended the outpatient/emergency during this period, The mean age of patients in the study was 31.4 (±19.0) years. Compared to Physicians, General dentist [OR 0.56, CI 0.29-10.47] were similar in giving an inappropriate diagnosis and treatment, whereas residents [OR 2.70, CI 1.65- 98.17] and resident endodontist [OR 2.30, CI 1.28- 78.11] were more likely to give appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: The findings from the study highlight the need for a greater number of endodontists to be at the forefront of screening and providing dental care during such health catastrophes.