Patient-reported orofacial-dental pain severity and tele-triage decisions during COVID-19 pandemic: Does the severity of pain drive tele-triage decisions?

Table 1 Pain severity across selected characteristics of the sample

Characteristic	N (%)	Pain Severity ^a	P-value ^b
Whole sample	532 (100)	6.05 ± 2.28
Age group			< 0.0001
Child/ Adolescent 9–18 Y	69 (12.97)	4.91 ± 2.24
Adult 19–44	365 (68.61)	6.29 ± 2.18
Middle Aged 45–64	60 (11.28)	5.93 ± 2.35
Aged 65 +	38 (7.14)	5.89 ± 2.63
Gender			0.330
Male	252 (47.4)	6.15 ± 2.19
Female	280 (52.6)	5.95 ± 2.36
History of chronic illness			0.109
No	396 (74.44)	5.95 ± 2.28
Yes	136 (25.56)	6.32 ± 2.26
Dental discipline required			< 0.0001
Restorative Specialties	312 (58.65)	6.24 ± 2.23
Surgical Specialities	150 (28.2)	6.23 ± 2.19
Orthodontics	70 (13.16)	4.79 ± 2.31

Pain severity (PS) represented as mean ± standard deviation; restorative specialties = restorative dentistry, endodontics & prosthodontics; surgical specialities = oral surgery & periodontics
^ahigher scores indicate higher severity of pain; ^b P-value based on ANOVA test for comparison of means

ISSN: 1472-6831