Effect of COVID-19 on orthodontic treatment/practice- A systematic review and meta-analysis

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), which has affected almost all medical professions, has had a significant negative influence on dental care. Additionally, non-urgent dental procedures were stopped during the epidemic in a number of countries. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on individuals who had undergone or are currently having orthodontic treatment in any capacity during/after the pandemic's occurrence. After a thorough search of the online journals, a total of 634 documents were found, and 416 of the papers were initially chosen. The removal of 362 similar or duplicate publications that followed led to the initial availability of 54 separate papers. The final selection consisted of 23 documents, mostly in vitro investigations, cross-sectional studies, and comparative evaluations, which satisfied the necessary inclusion and exclusion criteria. COVID-19 had a significant impact on nearly every sphere of the patients’ lives who were undergoing orthodontic treatment. However, people who are currently availing of various orthodontic treatment modalities did not experience the same issues as the ones faced by patients earlier. Teleorthodontics emerged as a viable option to access treatment during the lockdown period caused due to the pandemic. COVID-19 also had an overall negative impact on the psyche and morale of orthodontists around the world. PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42022380823.