With the aim of complementing the information published in the 2020 White Paper , prepared with data prior to the pandemic, the General Council of Dentists and the Spanish Dental Foundation have analyzed the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on various aspects of the population, such as their oral hygiene habits, the state of their oral health, the use made of oral services and the possible current economic impact. Thus, this White Paper 2023: Population survey of oral health in post-Covid-19 pandemic Spain , reveals important data obtained after interviewing more than a thousand people* over 18 years of age.

Results

12% of those surveyed claim to be more concerned about the state of their oral health than before the pandemic, and 67% admit to having some oral problem compared to 57% in the survey published in 2020.

During the pandemic period (2020-2021) there was a worsening of the global perception of oral problems in 2 out of 10 respondents (17%), such as untreated cavities, dental sensitivity, bleeding gums and bruxism. Specifically, this pathology has increased notably, from 6% in 2019 to 23% today. This is due to the anxiety and stress experienced by the population during the pandemic.

Visits to the dentist

31% of those surveyed reduced the frequency of visits to the dentist during the pandemic and 77% of the reasons given for not going to the consultation during that period are directly related to the coronavirus, among others, fear of contagion.

In the case of minors, 55% visited the dentist in 2019, a figure that dropped to 39% during the pandemic.

Globally, 8% of the people interviewed have not recovered their usual frequency of visits to the dentist in the post-pandemic period (as of 2022). It should be noted that the current economic crisis and the rise in inflation are possible causes of the retraction detected. When comparing the data from the 2023 White Paper with that of the 2020 White Paper , it is evident that economic factors were cited then by 24% of those surveyed who did not go to the dentist, while now that figure rises to 36%. Therefore, the fear of contagion and the loss of purchasing power have overlapped, leading to less use of dental services.

Although the number of respondents who went to the dentist last year is 52%, reality points to a decrease in the volume of work and, in certain cases, the treatments requested correspond to more basic care than those of the pre-pandemic stage. when they were more complex.

Dr. Óscar Castro, president of the General Council of Dentists, declares that thanks to this 2023 White Paper "we can have an updated x-ray of different aspects that are related to oral health in Spain." Likewise, he considers that the data is beginning to be optimistic, "because figures for 2019 are beginning to recover, although the unknown remains as to how dental demand will evolve in the coming months, due to economic conditions."