key: cord-0975232-37hbkncj authors: Jural, Lucas Alves; Maia, Lucianne Cople title: Questions associated with the COVID‐19 pandemic that should be answered by traumatic dental injuries researchers date: 2021-05-15 journal: Dent Traumatol DOI: 10.1111/edt.12684 sha: 4850fbd08fa41ba8297408bfa305c41bfde3da61 doc_id: 975232 cord_uid: 37hbkncj nan Dear Editor, In addition to the millions of lives lost around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 the dental community has also been severely affected by this catastrophic event. 2 Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) are the 5th most prevalent condition in the world, 3, 4 and Brazil is the country that publishes most on the subject, with authorship of 18.27% of articles worldwide. 5 Brazil enacted a state of emergency due to COVID-19 in March 2020. However, more than a year later, and unlike other countries, the daily average number of deaths exceeds the tragic number of 3000 people. 6 The prospect of flattening the epidemic curve is distant. Given the delay in initiating the process of mass vaccination, restrictive measures and social distancing remain extremely necessary. The monitoring and follow-up of TDI are indispensable due to the negative impact on the quality of life of affected individuals and its high potential to cause sequelae for the traumatized tooth or its successor in the case of injuries to the primary dentition. [9] [10] [11] In this sense, the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil is a limiting factor not only for the diagnosis and treatment of new injuries but also for the follow-up of those who were already being monitored by reference centres. In countries where teledentistry resources are available, basic monitoring of these cases can be done remotely. 12, 13 However, to date, the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry has not allowed the use of teledentistry by clinics linked to institutions of higher education, constituting yet another restrictive factor for the monitoring of TDI in the country during the pandemic. Considering these limitations, it is of utmost importance that the reference centres maintain a presence in virtual environments. Through the creation of websites and profiles on social networks, reference centres can provide patients with educational materials on the prevention and treatment of TDI. This is a measure that, in addition to providing guidance and support for patients and family members, maintains the connection between patients and the centre, and reinforces the importance of resuming the follow-up and monitoring of the TDI as soon as face-to-face activities resume. In view of Brazil's robust contribution to the understanding of this important field of dentistry, we believe that the long period of paralysis of TDI reference centres in the country will be highly detrimental to the study of dental traumatology worldwide. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of patients with dental traumatic injuries are no longer receiving treatment or follow-up and likely will suffer from the consequences associated with the injuries, whether dental or biopsychosocial. The challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed for the management of dental trauma are extensive worldwide, especially in countries such as Brazil that continue to face high incidence and death rates. Thus, on the resumption of the reference centres, researchers will need to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this important public health problem, which has historically affected the population at all stages of life. Researchers on the subject must be prepared to answer ques- The COVID-19 pandemic and dentistry: the clinical, legal and economic consequences -part 2: consequences of withholding dental care World traumatic dental injury prevalence and incidence, a meta-analysis-one billion living people have had traumatic dental injuries Traumatic dental injuries are now the 5th most prevalent disease/injury in the world-But they are being neglected!! Worldwide tendency and perspectives in traumatic dental injuries: a bibliometric analysis over two decades Epidemiologic survey of traumatic dental injuries in children seen at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil A violência contra mulheres, crianças e adolescentes em tempos de pandemia pela COVID-19: panorama, motivações e formas de enfrentamento. Cadernos de Saúde Pública Does traumatic dental injury impact oral health-related to quality of life of children and adolescents? Systematic review and meta-analysis Complications and sequelae of concussion and subluxation in permanent teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis Does trauma in the primary dentition cause sequelae in permanent successors? A systematic review Permanent dentition acute management of traumatic injuries and follow-up care during the COVID-19 pandemic Primary dentition acute management of traumatic injuries and follow-up care during the COVID-19 pandemic