413 - Effects of a COVID-19 Testing Policy on No-Show Rates for Aerosol Generating Procedures

Effects of a COVID-19 Testing Policy on No-Show Rates for Aerosol Generating Procedures, Kumar N, Nandi S, Chinn C, Best L, Kashani R, (New York University, New York, NY)

Purpose: The purpose was to determine the effect of a mandatory COVID-19 testing policy on the no-show rates for aerosol-generating procedure (AGP) appointments prior to and during COVID.

Methods: A case-control retrospective chart review was conducted at the Bellevue Hospital Center (BHC) Pediatric Dental Clinic. The sample size was 500 subjects, with a total of 812 scheduled appointments. Inclusion criteria of subjects included: age 4-17, diagnosed with dental caries, and scheduled for an AGP from October 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020 (control group) and October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 (COVID case group). Subjects were excluded from the study if the appointment included use of non-AGP or ultrasonic scaler only. Data was collected from an electronic dental records system, Dentrix. All information was de-identified and recorded in REDCap. Data collected included: age, gender, month and year of dental visit, appointment status, quadrants of dental work completed per appointment, number of dental visits, and days between each scheduled visit.

Results: There was no significant difference in no-show rates between groups (P <0.352). During the COVID policy, significantly more quadrants were completed (P <0.001) with shorter intervals between appointments (P <0.001).

Conclusion: A mandatory COVID-19 testing policy did not affect no-show rates but did impact the number of quadrants per visit and interval of days between visits for AGPs at Bellevue’s PDC.