Table 2. Implications of COVID-19 for Oral Health in the United States, 2020.

Core Functions of Public Health	Public Health Concerns	Future Opportunities
Assurance	Limited access to dental care compounded by COVID-19; aerosol-generating dental procedures increase risk of transmission	Promote prevention and use of nonaerosol-generating dental procedures; advance teledentistry training and reimbursement and other efforts to reach patients outside of the dental setting
	Regulations in some states limit dental hygienists’ and other dental team members’ ability to provide care in settings outside of the dental office	Modify state dental practice acts and other regulations for dental workforce reform and to increase access to prevention
	Lack of integration between oral health and the rest of the health care system	Increase integration between oral health care and primary care (ie, locations serving patients who are pregnant, have diabetes or cardiovascular disease)
Assessment	Lack of timely national oral health data and coordinated state and local information	Monitor oral health conditions as a result of delayed dental care during pandemic; include oral health metrics in health care quality measures
	Lack of information about health and safety of dental health care personnel during COVID-19; limited availability of PPE and COVID-19 testing for dental practices	Monitor dental workforce health and safety; increase availability of PPE and COVID-19 tests for dental care settings
	Evidence needed to determine most cost-effective PPE or PPE combinations and other measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 in dental settings	Further testing of specific PPE and PPE combinations and other measures to protect patient and provider health in dental settings
Policy Development	Potential public and provider unease about seeking and providing dental care during pandemic	Provide clear communication about how to safely obtain and provide dental care during the pandemic
	Oral health not prioritized	Educate about importance of oral health and its relation to the health of the rest of the body; provide parity with health care policies (ie, Medicaid, Medicare)
	Varied state-level adult dental Medicaid benefits	Advocate for sustained dental Medicaid funding and expansion to close coverage gaps
	Reimbursement models incentivize surgical, high-end restorative dental procedures	Modify reimbursement to provide incentives for prevention, maintaining health, teledentistry

Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; PPE, personal protective equipment; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.