Improving safety in dental practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a novel coronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan and very quickly became a challenging public health problem. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization termed this potentially deadly disease a pandemic due to its rapid spread in various parts of the world, giving rise to international health emergencies. This virus is transmitted from human to human in the form of respiratory droplets, and in specific circumstances, airborne transmission may occur. Additional sources of exposure for dentists include blood and infected sharps. Due to the contagious nature of COVID-19 many health care providers have also been disproportionately affected, such as physicians, dentists, nurses, and paramedical staff. Dentists and dental staff are at high risk of cross-infection due to their nature of work. Therefore, they face a dual challenge in protecting themselves and their patients from infection transmission while ensuring that patients receive urgent dental care. In this review, the authors highlight the epidemiology, modes of cross-infection, and recent data on SARS-CoV-2 related to dental practice. The primary purpose is to make dental health care providers aware of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and to increase their preparedness and understanding of this challenge, which will aid in controlling transmission. The information collected will be useful for the dental community in providing effective patient management through evidence-based recommendations for infection control and disinfection protocols.

Assessing the Compliance of Dental Clinicians towards Regulatory Infection Control Guidelines Using a Newly Developed Survey Tool: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study in India

“…As of 8 June 2022, there have been 530,896,347 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 6,301,020 deaths, as reported by the WHO [ 72 ]. Further, recently identified, highly transmissible, and evolving variants—such as B.1.1.7 (202012/01), B.1.351 (501Y.V2), and P.1.—continue to draw the attention of health authorities [ 73 , 74 ]. This rise in cases could be the fallout of the relaxation of public health measures, such as the reluctance to adhere to preventive social measures, including social distancing, avoiding crowds, wearing of masks, and hand hygiene [ 75 , 76 ].…”

Effect of COVID-19 on dental care for children during the post-pandemic era in Ghana: a concern for policymaking

“…A suitable toothbrush should be used for children with erupted teeth. For those without erupted teeth, the gingival mucosa should be washed with sterile gauze dipped in a proper antiseptic solution (6).…”

“…A study by Benahmed et al (6) showed that only a few of the patients who visited outpatient departments during the pandemic required serious pain management. Marui et al (7) reported that during the pandemic, most patients reported abscesses and periapical lesions.…”

Electrolyzed water for the microbiologic control in the pandemic dental setting: a systematic review

“…Several disinfectants and cleaning solutions are currently available for microbiologic control at the dental office, including viruses. However, most of them are not entirely innocuous for humans, dental instruments, materials, and the environment and are not fully effective in controlling the virus dissemination [10,11]. From this basis, the use of electrolyzed water has brought recent attention due to its bactericidal and virucidal activities and less detrimental effects on biological tissues, skin, and mucosa [12].…”