Infection Control in Endodontics During COVID Era: A Review

Abstract

The outbreak of the SARS-C0V-2 pandemic has continued to affect people's lives on a global scale. When the number of infected cases decreased, several countries across the world lifted their lock-down controls and started to open. But the latest re-emergence of COVID-19 cases across Europe once again prompted nations to step back to contain the virus spread. The most prevalent route of transmission is through aerosols and droplet inhalation, which is crucial for dental health workers as most dental procedures generate significant amounts of droplets and aerosols. Thus, it is imperative to follow infection control strategies and patient management protocols to ensure optimum dental care and at the same time prevent nosocomial infection in dental settings. This review provides an insight into the steps taken for infection control and prevention from COVID-19 transmission in endodontic practices.

Endodontics in COVID Era

“…COVID-19's receptorbinding domain spike pattern is strikingly similar to that of SARS-CoV, and pair-wise protein sequence analysis revealed that it belonged to the SARS-related coronavirus. Both COVID-19 and SARS-CoV use the same receptor, ACE2, to enter the host cell [2].…”

“…Respiratory droplets have a diameter of 5-10 um, while aerosols and droplet nuclei have a diameter of less than 5 um. When a person comes into close contact with an infected person who has respiratory symptoms, the virus is transmitted via these droplets [2].…”

“…The COVID-19 (Corona virus) outbreak that began near Wuhan, China, has rapidly escalated into a public health emergency that has spread across the globe [1]. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COVID 2 (SARS-CoV-2) a pandemic due to the threats to public health [2]. The novel Coronavirus has a place with a group of single-abandoned RNA infections known as Coronaviridae.…”