How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Emergency Dental Trauma Settings in Permanent Dentition? A Retrospective Study

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the patterns, distribution, and circumstances of dental trauma (DT) cases at a German cranio-maxillofacial trauma center. Materials and Methods: This retrospective analysis compared DT cases from the PreCovid (PC) period (February 2019-January 2020) with those from the IntraCovid (IC) period (February 2020-January 2021). It included an examination of baseline characteristics, types of DT, circumstances leading to DT, and the treatment approaches applied. Results: In the IC period, there was an increase in the number of DT, a significant increase in uncomplicated crown fractures, crown-root fractures, subluxations, avulsions, alveolar fractures, combined tooth fractures and dislocations, and concomitant soft tissue injuries. There were no differences regarding the location of DT. During the IC period there was a significant reduction in sports accidents, road traffic accidents, interpersonal violence, and alcohol-related DT. Simultaneously, there was a marked increase in falls, syncopal episodes, home accidents, and DT incidents occurring on weekdays. Furthermore, during the IC period, the number of cases of DT increased in the morning and decreased at nighttime. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the types of DT, the treatment approaches, and the circumstances under which DT occurred. Investigating these impacts can help to predict the effects of a future pandemic on DT and/or maxillofacial trauma and possibly reduce these effects through establishing appropriate preventive measures.