1 Volume 24 2025 e257523 Original Research Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523http://dx.doi.org/10.20396/bjos.v24i00.8667523 1 Departament of Oral Diagnosis, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba (FOP), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. 2 Department of Clinical and Social Dentistry, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil. 3 School of Dentistry, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil. 4 Department of Clinical and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil. 5 Center for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, Dental School, University of José Rosário Vellano, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Corresponding author: Alison José Martelli Department of Oral Diagnosis, University of Campinas (FOP/UNICAMP) 901 Limeira Avenue, Piracicaba, São Paulo, 13414-018, Brazil. Phone +55 35991910838 E-mail: alison.martelli@gmail.com Editor: Dr. Altair A. Del Bel Cury Received: November 11, 2023 Accepted: October 17, 2024 Activities of members of the Brazilian Society of Stomatology and Oral Pathology in the Covid-19 Alison José Martelli1* , Paulo Rogério Ferreti Bonan2 , Daniella Reis Barbosa Martelli3 , Jannefer Leite de Oliveira3 , Danyel Elias da Cruz Perez1,4 , Hercílio Martelli Júnior3,5 The COVID-19 pandemic quickly spread throughout many countries, affecting the functioning of various important services, including services in dentistry, and led to profound changes. Aim: This study aims to highlight the problems faced by members of the Brazilian Society of Stomatology and Oral Pathology (SOBEP), during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Three hundred and eighteen members of the SOBEP received, by e-mail, an online structured questionnaire, on the Google Forms platform (Google®), with questions related to the clinical and research activities developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Of the 318 members of the SOBEP, 139 (43.7%) answered the questionnaire. Of the 139 associates, 88 were females (63.3%), distributed in five Brazilian Regions, and twenty states, and Federal District. Thirty-three (23.7%) associates work in two areas, stomatology and oral pathology, being the workplace throughout the area of operation public higher education institutions. Importantly, 112 (80.6%) members reported that they are developing their activities with restriction, and 95 (68.3%) members reported changes in their workplace to meet the new biosafety standards. Ninety-one (65.5%) reported having noticed changes in their mental health. Conclusion: The pandemic has caused numerous changes in the clinical activities of dentistry, and due to the risk of infection, several procedures within stomatology and oral pathology have been postponed. Thus, further studies are required in order to show the real impact of the pandemic in this area. Keywords: COVID-19. Oral medicine. Pathology, oral. Surveys and questionnaires. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5361-9240 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4449-4343 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7497-6052 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0422-8216 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4591-4645 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9691-2802 2 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 Introduction In Latin America, Brazil was the first country to confirm a case of COVID-19 on February 26, 20201,2. More than a year after the first confirmed case (May 24, 2021), the country has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the world (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html). The production of aerosols during oral procedures demonstrated an additional risk to dentists3. These professionals had their operation restricted, as well as in dental schools4. In Brazil, during the pandemic, the number of consultations in oral medicine (OM) and oral biopsies dropped 65.5% and 68.8%, respectively, thereby resulting in a delay in the diagno- sis of oral lesions5,6. With a population of approximately 213 million people (https://www.ibge.gov.br/) (accessed in May 2021), and an extensive territory, Brazil has 336,254 dentists (http://cfo.org.br/website/estatisticas/quantidade-geral-de-entidades-e-profissionais-ativos/). In Brazil, the Federal Council of Dentistry recognized OM (or Stomatology) as a specialty in 1992 and Oral Pathology (OP) in 19717. In 1974, the Brazilian Soci- ety of Stomatology (SOBE) was founded, and, in 2007, it was renamed the Bra- zilian Society of Stomatology and Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (SOBEP) (www.estomatologia.com.br). Owing to the restrictions, specialists in OM and OP had their services affected. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the main challenges faced by SOBEP members during the pandemic. Indeed, due to the pandemic, several measures were imposed to reduce contami- nation, leading to restrictions even in dental services, consequently affecting the services of specialists in oral medicine and oral pathology. In this context, our study aims to assess the main problems faced by SOBEP members during this pandemic period. Material and Method This is a cross-sectional questionnaire, using the Google Forms Platform (Google®) tool (https://docs.google.com/forms/), distributed electronically to SOBEP members, through institutional e-mail, by the entity itself (http://www.estomatologia.com.br/), totaling 318 forms sent. The forms were composed of two parts: the first, containing sociodemographic vari- ables, such as gender, origin, federative unit, area of activity, among others, and the second part, with questions related to the clinical and research activities developed. Participation in the questionnaire was voluntary and spontaneous and all responses were anonymous. Data were collected and stored in a database and processed using the statistical program SPSS® version 24.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The Research Ethics Committee (#4.091.568) approved the study. https://www.ibge.gov.br/ http://cfo.org.br/website/estatisticas/quantidade-geral-de-entidades-e-profissionais-ativos/ http://www.estomatologia.com.br 3 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 Result Of the 318 SOBEP members, 139 (43.7%) answered the questionnaire. There was a predominance of females (88; 63.3%). The participants were distributed in all the 5 Brazilian macro-regions, in 21 states and the Federal District (Table 1). Most of them (66; 47.5%) reported working exclusively in public services, 51 (36.7%) in public dental schools and 15 (12.3%) in health care services. The majority of participants (112; 80.6%) reported that their clinical activities continued during the pandemic, but with restrictions; 95 (68.3%) confirmed adjustments in their workplace to meet the new biosafety standards. There was no lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for 64 (46.1%) SOBEP members. However, 104 (74.8%) requested funding for PPE. Monthly income had a significant reduction for 54 (38.8%) participants and 91 (65.5%) reported mental health disorders. Table 1. Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology according to the Brazilian Regions and States. Regions of Brazil State Number of SOBEP members (n) (%) Southeast São Paulo 30 (21.6) Rio de Janeiro 17 (12.2) Minas Gerais 16 (11.5) Espírito Santo 1 (0.7) South Paraná 12 (8.6) Rio Grande do Sul 12 (8.6) Santa Catarina 11 (7.9) Northeast Pernambuco 8 (5.8) Bahia 7 (5.0) Paraíba 6 (4.3) Ceará 4 (2.9) Sergipe 3 (2.2) Alagoas 3 (2.2) Rio Grande do Norte 2 (1.4) Piauí 1 (9.7) Maranhão 1 (9.7) Midwest Goiás 2 (1.4) Federal District* 1 (9.7) North Amapá 1 (9.7) Amazônia 1 (9.7) Pará 1 (9.7) Total 139 (100) *The Federal District encompasses the capital of Brazil, Brasília. 4 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 When asked about problems faced in clinical activities, most members (56; 40.2%) had restrictions on opening the workplace. Face-to-face activities were completely suspended for 48 (34.5%) members, and 38 (27.3%) reported lack or incomplete adaptations to the biosafety protocols. Additionally, 18 (12.9%) mentioned lack of reagents and consumables, and 8 (5.8%) pointed out difficulties in getting to the workplace (Table 2). Table 2. Limitation of the activities of members of the Brazilian Society of Stomatology and Oral Pathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. n (%) Carried out your professional activities Yes, with restrictions 112 (80.6) Yes 16 (11.5) No 11 (7.9) Changes in the workplace to achieve new biosecurity standards Yes 95 (68.3) No, but adjustments are in progress 30 (21.6) No 14 (10.1) Lack of Personal Protective Equipment No 64 (46.1) Yes 28 (27.3) My face-to-face activities are suspended 37 (26.6) Increase in financial values for the acquisition of Personal Protective Equipment Yes 104 (74.8) I’m not following, my activities are suspended 27 (19.4) No 8 (5.8) Worsening in mental health Yes 91 (65.5) No 48 (34.5) Reduction of your monthly income Yes, slight reduction 54 (38.8) No 53 (38.2) Yes, significant 32 (23) Problem(s) related to your professional activity during Restrictions on the opening of the workplace 56 (40.2) My face-to-face activities are completely suspended 48 (34.5) Lack or incomplete adaptations of biosafety protocols 38 (27.3) Lack of consumables 18 (12.9) Difficulties in moving to the workplace 8 (5.8) 5 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 Most members (116; 83.5%) reported developing research activities, with 100 (86.2%) of them declaring ongoing research, and 83 (71.6%) reported developing research on COVID-19. Nevertheless, 89 (79.3%) stated difficulties with the progress of the research. The major problems encountered for research development were closure of workplaces, including laboratories, school-clinics (69; 59.5%), difficulties in moving due to restrictions (36; 31%), communication with other team members (24; 20.7%), lack of research material (12; 10.3%), and insufficient funding (12; 10.3%). Moreover, 114 (98.2%) reported participating in remote teaching activities (Table 3). Table 3. Limitation on research activities by members of the Brazilian Society of Stomatology and Oral Pathology. n (%) Developing any research activities Yes 116 (83.5) No 23 (16.5) Having any research in progress Yes 100 (86.2) No 16 (13.8) Difficulties in conducting the research Yes 92 (79.3) No 24 (20.7) Conducting any studies involving Covid-19 Yes 83 (71.6) No 33 (28.4) Participating in remote updating or training activities, such as lives, forums, lectures, among others Yes 114 (98.2) No 2 (1.7) Frequency of online activities per week: 2 times a week 32 (28.0) 1 time a week 33 (29) 5 times or more per week 19 (16.6) 3 times a week 17 (15) 4 times a week 13 (11.4) Difficulty in research development during this period Closing of the place where the research is applied or carried out 69 (59.5%) Difficulty in displacement due to restrictions 36 (31%) Communication with other team members 24 (20.7%) Does not apply 22 (19%) Research material 12 (10.3%) Budget cut 12 (10.3%) 6 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 Discussion In Brazil, public health is a guarantee for all inhabitants, as demonstrated in this study by a large number of exclusive health workers. Members of SOBEP reported continuing their activities even with restrictions, using tools such as telemedicine and remote classes while maintaining their activities8,9. The majority of SOBEP mem- bers revealed adjustments in their workplace to meet the new biosafety standards, including social distance, the use of PPE, and environmental cleanliness, among other things10-12. The transmission of COVID-19 occurs primarily by air, making the use of PPE essen- tial12. Although the majority of SOBEP members were affected by an increase in the price of this equipment, justified by a higher demand, the members were not harmed by a lack of PPE13. Professionals reported a modest reduction in income, whereas radiography clinics revealed a significant decrease14. According to the conclusions of previous investigations, treatment of patients during the pandemic caused con- siderable emotional distress14-16. The main problems faced by clinical activities were restrictions on opening the workplace, face-to-face activities completely suspended and lack or incomplete adaptations of biosafety protocols that may result in diagnos- tic delays for oral disorders17,18. Most members reported developing research activities and difficulties with their prog- ress, thus resulting in losses in research19. These factors have led to impacts in vari- ous fields of OM and OP, due to the numerous problems faced3,5,20. In conclusion, the pandemic has brought profound changes to our societies and, among them, dental care in the area of oral medicine and pathology can be high- lighted. Several measures have been taken in order to reduce the risk of contam- inations and infections. In dentistry, the risk of infection is very high, due to the handling of areas potentially contaminated by COVID-19. Restrictive measures had a considerable impact on the activities developed by the members of Bra- zilian Society of Stomatology and Oral Pathology, reflecting the great number of problems identified in this study. Certainly, this will cause many long-term conse- quences, due to the importance of oral medicine and pathology in the diagnosis and treatments of oral diseases. Acknowledgment The Minas Gerais State Research Foundation-FAPEMIG, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - CNPq, Brazil. Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.  Data Availability Datasets related to this article will be available upon request to the corresponding author. 7 Martelli et al. Braz J Oral Sci. 2025;24:e257523 Authors Contribution Alison José Martelli: conceptualization and writing of the manuscript. 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