71 - Impact of COVID-19 on the Provision of Oral Health Services by Federally Qualified Health Centers

Abstract:

Objectives: To evaluate challenges experienced by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that provided oral health services to their patients during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Methods: The study used data from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Uniform Data System reported by Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Grantees for 2019 and 2020. Changes in staffing, patient utilization of dental services, and quantity and types of services were analyzed using SAS v9.4.

Results: Nationwide, the number of FQHCs decreased from 1,352 in 2019 to 1,342 in 2020; however, similar proportions of FQHCs provided dental care pre-pandemic (87.6%) and during the first year of the pandemic (87.9%). Over the same period, there was a reduction in FQHC oral health staffing nationally (number of oral health providers, -11.0% change; ratio of dental hygienists to dentist, -28.4% change); the largest declines were at FQHCs located in the West and the Northeast. Similarly, the volume of dental care provided at FQHCs decreased from 6.3 million patients receiving any oral health services pre-pandemic to 4.9 million patients in 2020 (-19.2% change); the Northeast experienced the largest decline. The proportion of patients receiving preventive dental services decreased the most (-33.1% change); in contrast, the proportion of patients receiving emergency services increased (13.0% change).

Conclusions: Study findings suggest a decline in FQHCs’ provision of oral health services to patients nationwide, particularly in the Northeast and West, during the first year of the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic year.

Source of Funding: US Health Resources and Services Administration, National Bureau for Health Workforce Analysis