Long-term public health implications of COVID-19 on oral health access and health disparities: A focus on equity

Oral healthcare access disruption emerged as a significant factor that caused dental treatment services to decrease during the enduring public health crisis of COVID-19. Major dental practice closures across the United States that blocked routine oral care delivery resulted in extended care gaps, which deepened existing health disparities. Minority racial groups, together with financially disadvantaged populations and residents living in rural areas, faced the negative impacts of broken dental care. These groups, along with patients, were disproportionately affected. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant disparities in dental care delivery methods across American communities. Virtual consultations and telehealth became essential pandemic tools yet showed significant limitations because dentistry demands direct hand intervention. The journal documents the sustained public health effects of COVID-19 on dental care access as it examines differences in health equity for various population groups. The journal performs extensive evaluations of access barriers faced by vulnerable groups before presenting potential solutions using case examples from these populations. Across the journal, proposed policy actions advocate for expanding Medicaid dental coverage while exploring integrating oral health services with primary care infrastructure and deploying telehealth and mobile clinics as enduring service models. This journal adopts a structured approach to establish equal access to dental care, which tackles existing health disparities for all patients during and after the pandemic.