Abstract
To understand the impact of the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus infection) on dental visit behavior in Japan, we investigated monthly changes in the number of first-visit patients during the year 2020 with the cooperation of 58 dental clinics in 27 prefectures nationwide, compared to the average monthly number of first-visit patients in 2018 and 2019. The following characteristics were observed in the number of first-visit patients in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began: (1) the number of minors decreased from April to July, and increased in October for males and in September for females; (2) the number of adult first-visit patients remained at a low level of 60-90% of that of the previous years throughout the year; (3) the number of adult male and female patients decreased by half in April and May respectively, and recovered to a certain extent in September and October. This drastic fluctuation in the number of first-visit patients was largely influenced by the fact that dental checkups for minors were conducted avoiding the COVID-19 epidemic period and widening the target age window, and that the school dental checkups were rescheduled, if any, to any time in the school year. The number of first-visit adult patients exhibited a roller coaster-like decline and increase, with a sharp drop in April and May and a return to the previous year's level in September and October. It is assumed that this was due to the fact that many patients refrained from seeing physicians following the declaration of the state of emergency, and some clinics were closed, resulting in a decrease in the number of first-visit patients, which was then reversed in early autumn when COVID-19 had settled down, causing an increase in the number of patients.
