The impact of COVID-19 on cervicofacial infection of dental aetiology

Cervicofacial infections of dental aetiology can be life-threatening and with the closure of dental practices following the onset of the COVID-19, it would be anticipated that their prevalence presenting to maxillofacial surgery would increase and services may be overwhelmed, with patients presenting later with a potential subsequent increase in morbidity. A retrospective analysis of patients with cervicofacial infection of dental aetiology referred to maxillofacial surgery during the initial six weeks of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 was carried out and compared with the equivalent period in the two preceding years. Unexpectedly, during COVID-19 lockdown, there was a reduction in patients seen with cervicofacial infection of dental aetiology. This may have resulted from patient adherence to government guidelines “Stay at home”, successful triaging of patients in primary care and emergency treatment provided by urgent dental care centres. Proportionally more patients who presented to hospital had received prior antibiotic therapy and required in-patient admission. All patients admitted received incision and drainage, with an increase extraoral drainage and an associated reduction in length of stay. During COVID-19 lockdown, maxillofacial managed a reduced number of patients with cervicofacial infection, likely resulting from primary and secondary dental care working together. The rate of incision and drainage of patients not admitted increased under local anaesthesia with increase of extraoral drainage and reduced length of stay for those admitted.