Dentistry May Undergo Immense Change in the Post-Pandemic World

The response and aftermath to the global COVID-19 pandemic may encourage significant changes to the practice of dentistry, according to Lisa Simon, DMD, a Fellow in Oral Health and Medicine Integration at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. In a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, Simon purports that both medicine and dentistry will need to adapt to a post-pandemic environment. She highlights the following changes as likely aftereffects:

• Increased use of telehealth applications with consumer-based devices, such as iPhones, with additional Current Dental Terminology codes to secure reimbursement
• Decrease in the number of solo private practice dental practices and growth of dental service organizations with many dentists older than 55 gravitating toward early retirement
• Cuts in Medicaid coverage of dental treatment due to state budget shortfalls
• Increase in the integration of medical and dental electronic health records
• Growth in the legality and utilization of midlevel practitioners such as dental therapists

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