332 - Shifting Restorative Treatments by Dentists Pre-COVID Through Post-COVID

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in restorative dental
treatment rates and practice types following the announcement of the COVID-19
pandemic.

Methods:
A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted using Insurance claims data obtained
from CareQuest, a comprehensive database of dental insurance claims in the US
during 2019 to 2023. Two groups of Non-Minimally Invasive Care (Non-MIC) and
Minimally Invasive Care (MIC) were identified. Specific dental procedure codes were
used to classify the treatments as follows:
Non MIC: Amalgam, composite, and foil restorations, inlays, onlays, crowns, and core
buildups.
MIC procedures: Caries arresting/preventing medicaments, resin infiltration for incipient
caries, PRR, odontoplasty, protective restoration, intermediate therapeutic restoration

Results:
There has been an overall increase in MIC (minimally invasive care) procedures by
providers from 2019 to 2023. The ratio of MIC to non-MIC increased from 0.03 to 0.08
from Q3 2019 to Q2 2019. The states with the highest MIC to non-MIC ratios were
Alabama and Oregon with 17.15% and 9.04% respectively. The MIC to non-MIC ratios
increased the most between Q1 2020 to Q3 2020, with Q2 2020 being the highest
which coincided with the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic (march 2020).

Conclusion:
There has been an overall increase in preventative/minimally invasive treatment from
2019 to 2023.There are differences in how different states, like Oregon and Alabama,
practice minimally invasive dentistry.