How COVID-9 is impacting Children’s Dentistry

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on many different industries. The healthcare industry has been impacted the most, as it is where the majority of people have to turn when they get sick. However, it is not as good as it seems. There are a lot of businesses that are deemed nonessential, so they have to remain closed. Parents also have to find other places to put their kids, as they don’t have schools open anymore. Dentistry is one of those things that kind of hangs in the middle. It is seen as less important than a hospital visit, but it is still more important than other stores opening. However, the new social distancing and other mandates put in have caused the field to change permanently.

Wait Times

The biggest issue that the coronavirus has caused is with wait times. People now have to wait a lot longer at the dentist. The biggest thing is that the new rules make it difficult for businesses to have too many people inside at the same time. While this is good for safety, it is very bad for throughput. The amount of people a dentist can see every day has now decreased potentially. They have to figure out ways of seeing more people, but they haven’t done that yet. This is impacting children the most, as their needs might seem to be less important at this time. Many people are trying to prioritize themselves, and that leaves the kids hanging.

Information

Another area that is suffering is the lack of education. Many parents don’t know where to turn it comes to finding effective education for their kids. There are many websites on the Internet where they can learn about effective children’s dentistry. A resource like this would give them a lot of good information that they couldn’t come up with on their own. Information is especially important since it is very difficult to have a face-to-face visit with a dentist right now. The coronavirus has made that almost impossible. People are now having to fend for themselves by going on the Internet and looking for other resources. This is important because it is very hard to find what places to trust. Almost anyone can create their own Internet article, and it could be potentially disastrous for the parent if they follow the wrong advice.

How It Will Transform in the Future

It seems like the coronavirus pandemic is going to transform the industry as a whole. Things are going to get a lot more hands-off. People are now more unwilling than ever to have normal interactions with each other, and this will only continue. The children’s dentistry field will be further impacted by this because of the kids not having the best diets. Only time will tell how the industry will change, but the most important thing will be prioritizing kids and giving them what they need first.