After the early success in rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines, it’s becoming clear that people will likely need an additional “booster” shot to ensure ongoing immunity. Dental providers can play an important role by administering both vaccines and booster shots that will protect Americans from the virus or new variants.
In March 2021, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health surveyed 377 dental providers in the DentaQuest network, assessing their willingness to administer the COVID-19 vaccine and subsequent boosters.
Key findings include:
- 49% of dental providers said they were either offering the COVID-19 vaccine to patients or were interested in doing so.
- Dental providers in public health settings were 10 times more likely to be offering COVID-19 vaccines than providers in private practice (44% versus 4%).
- However, 43% of providers in private practice expressed interest in offering the vaccine.
Each year, more than 19 million Americans visit a dentist but do not see any other medical providers. Dental practices can be a key access point for the immunizations that will reduce barriers to care and allow Americans to return to normal life.
You may also be interested in:
- Dentists are an Untapped Resource for Delivering COVID-19 Vaccines: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health found that over half of respondents (57%) in a recent oral health equity survey are willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and 60% of people who are willing to get the vaccine are also willing to receive it from a dentist.
- State of Oral Health Equity in America: COVID-19, Vaccines, and Teledentistry: This is the first of two webinars that focuses on the findings from a survey around oral health inequities, COVID-19 vaccination efforts by oral health care providers, and teledentistry experiences and access.
- State of Oral Health Equity in America 2021: A series of reports developed from findings from a nationally representative survey of consumer and patient attitudes, experiences, and behaviors on oral health.
