Purpose The first aim of this paper is to provide dental professionals caring for children and adolescents during and after the COVID-19 pandemic with a reference to international dental guidelines. The second aim is to suggest minimally invasive treatment alternatives for caries management, minimising the risk of viral cross-infection and offering a safer clinical environment. Methods An evidence-based pertinent literature search of different electronic databases was performed in addition to leading global dental authorities, royal colleges, and programmes. Results All guidelines released in response to COVID-19 centred around minimising Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGP) impacting the provision of regular dental treatment of paediatric patients. There was an emphasis on triaging and only treating emergency and urgent cases. Special attention was given to medically compromised children in the guidelines. Detailed guidelines for the dental environment and equipment were given. This paper also summarised the relevant evidence-based guidelines for the use of non-invasive and minimally invasive caries management techniques. Conclusion Specific recommendations for dental management of paediatric patients during and in the post-COVID-19 era are suggested. Minimisation of AGP procedures, and case-based selection of biological, non-invasive or minimally invasive methods are recommended.

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) necessitated an abrupt transition from on campus, face-to-face sessions to online, distance learning in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of postgraduate dental learners and instructors about the transition to distance learning, including the changes to the learning and teaching and its efficaciousness. A convergent mixed methods approach to research was utilized. All the instructors and postgraduate learners in a dental college were invited to participate in an online survey. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analyses on SPSS for Windows version 25.0, and for the responses to the open-ended questions, multi-staged thematic analysis was utilized. Both groups of stakeholders: learners and instructors, were satisfied with the rapid transition to distance learning due to COVID-19. Instructors were significantly more satisfied than the learners. The stakeholders adapted well to the change. The perception of the stakeholders regarding the case-based scenarios significantly influenced their level of satisfaction. As perceived by the stakeholders, the transition to distance learning entailed advantages and challenges. Going through the experience enabled the stakeholders to develop informed opinions of how best to sustain learning and teaching irrespective of how matters unfold in relation to the pandemic. In conclusion, the worldwide dental education community faced unprecedented challenges due to the onset of COVID-19. From a macro perspective, decision-makers must not miss out on the valuable opportunities, inherent in the experience, to reinforce curriculums, and maximize learning and teaching.

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of school nurses and physical education teachers (SN and PE teachers) about the emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in schools and to measure the impact of education on their knowledge. A longitudinal prospective study based on a questionnaire survey completed by 68 SN and PE teachers at three time periods (prior to, immediately after, and 3 months-post-educational intervention). Pre- and post t-test and repeated measures (analysis of variance) were used to compare the three group means for the same participants ( p < .05 was considered significant). Significant improvement in the knowledge score among participants was observed between the initial survey to immediately after the educational session and to 3 months after ( p = .047). Significant improvement in the choice of immediately seeking attention after tooth avulsion was observed ( p = .001). The initial knowledge deficiency about the emergency management of TDIs among SN and PE teachers was improved and sustained.

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Caries in the primary dentition in the GCC States was high both in terms of mean (5.14) and prevalence (80.95%).