ATLANTA — During the last eight months, the coronavirus has been the No. 1 health issue that has impacted people worldwide.
But as healthcare providers battle the virus, they are seeing other medical conditions on the rise. Some doctors said they fear people who have not contracted COVID-19 are facing other health issues as a result of not being able to see their doctor on a regular basis or get necessary screenings.
11Alive spoke to doctors around Atlanta who are concerned about the issues they're seeing in patients.
"We weren’t seeing routine checkups during shelter-in-place because we just couldn’t, we weren’t supposed to," explained 11Alive medial correspondant Dr. Sujatha Reddy.
But, now that most practices are back open to the general public, some metro doctors reported seeing an increase in non-COVID medical conditions, partially due to missed appointments
Dr. Vincent Marsh with Piedmont Smiles said as patients have come back, he's seeing two main issues.
"One of the first things we’ve noticed is a bit of an increase in gum disease," he described. "The other thing that we have seen a lot of is a big uptick in people grinding and or clenching their teeth more due to stress. Some have ending up with broken teeth, broken fillings or just had tooth aches because of the grinding."
Marsh said he believes some of the issues could have been caught if patients were able to have their routine checkups.
It's not just dental issues. Some physicians said they’re seeing an uptick in other serious health conditions, like newly-diagnosed high blood pressure, Some cancer diagnoses are also being missed because patients are not going in for their regular checks.
And while we may joke about pandemic pounds, Dr. Reddy said weight gain is a real issue right now for some patients.
"Colonoscopies are another thing I hear people expressing concern over, but I do think we have a very good system in place right now to protect health care providers, technicians and patients," Reddy said.
But she added that some patients are still afraid to come in for those yearly check ups because of COVID concerns.
"I feel it’s perfectly safe to go get those preventative screenings like mammograms," Reddy reassured.
"I actually think your risk of missing something by not going to the screener is much greater than your risk of contracting Covid at one of these centers or in a hospital," she explained.
Dr. Marsh added that in addition to following CDC guidelines, his office is also following recommendations from OSHA and the American Dental Association.
"Your health care professionals across the board are prepared for this, so if you’re avoiding care because you’re afraid they are not prepared, don’t have that concern," he assured.