More people are coming back to dental offices for treatment now, as new numbers from Statistics Canada show just how the pandemic impacted the industry.
According to StatsCan the dental industry in Canada saw a nearly 15 per cent drop in total output from 2019 to 2020, representing a decrease from about $18 billion to $15.5 billion.
The agency says that drop made the dental industry the only one — when comparing it with physician offices and miscellaneous ambulatory health services — to see a decline in output during that time.
People CityNews spoke with say they have made a trip to the dentist recently.
“Two weeks ago,” one person said.
“Over six months ago, at this point,” said one man.
“January of this year,” added another.
Now, clinics like Le Family Dental are also seeing the upward trend in patients.
“Mid-2022 we started to see a gradual incline. Definitely in 2023 it feels like a lot of people have come back,” said clinic manager Candace Checknita. “This clinic is a growing clinic, so 2024 was an amazing year.”
Dentist Dr. Linh Le says, many patients are now returning to dental clinics after the COVID-19 pandemic, and this big gap has created big problems.
“If they are coming in and they are saying they haven’t been in since COVID, they’re starting to experience the pain and the problems,” she explained. “They are starting to say, ‘Yes, I’ve got to come in now.’
“We are catching up on all that work.”
The type of patients dentist offices could see during the pandemic were restricted, according to StatsCan, accounting for the decrease.
But, since then, the industry has rebounded with dental output reaching $19 billion in 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. StatsCan also found staffing levels decreased during the pandemic but have since started to grow.
“I think a lot of people with the work from home that was going on with COVID, a lot of people started to get out the industry and look for jobs that would fit that new trend,” Checknita said. “But at the same time, a lot of people were losing their jobs or leaving their jobs.”
For anyone having a bit of anxiety after not going to dentist in a while, Dr. Le says it’s better late than never.
“Most dental disease is highly preventable with proper maintenance and care,” she said.