COVID-19: Perspectives for the management of dental care and education

Abstract

COVID-19: Perspectives for the management of dental care and education The rapid and abrupt transmission pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 unleashed the current COVID-19 pandemic, as recognized by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Considering the high risk of transmission of the virus in dental environments and the specificities in clinical practice, COVID-19 posed immediate challenges for dental care and education. Due to the need to establish infection prevention and control guidance in dental health settings to enable a safe clinical practice, this review aims to list the challenges and perspectives in managing dental care in services and schools. This review employed materials collected from PubMed and the main guidelines and studies on the novel coronavirus to provide an overview of the clinical procedures and decisions made by health care personnel in dental offices and dental schools. We expect the COVID-19 scenario to promote significant changes in clinical practice and dental education; dentists should seek specific and particular regulations for dental practice established by their state or country. Biosafety checklists are strongly recommended for appointments at dental services and face-to-face activities in dental schools.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Spectrum of Performed Dental Procedures

“…Dental professionals should follow the sanitary and epidemiological guidelines established by their country, in line with the three-step protection recommended by the WHO [ 9 ]. The most important steps in protecting and reducing contamination are considered to be patient triage, prescription of mouth rinses prior to dental treatment, hand hygiene for dentists and patients, personal protective equipment for dental practitioners, limitation of aerosol-producing procedures, and cleaning of potentially contaminated surfaces [ 10 ].…”

Odontologia no contexto da pandemia por COVID-19: uma visão crítica/Dentistry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical view

“…Destacam-se como medidas de proteção o uso e descarte correto dos EPI's. Deve-se utilizar gorro, máscara cirúrgica ou respiradores, luvas, óculos, protetor facial e avental impermeável (BARABARI e MOHARAMZADEH, 2020;GUGNANI e GUGNANI, 2020;GURGEL et al, 2020;LO GIUDICE, 2020;MAIA et al, 2020;MENG, HUA e BIAN, 2020;SANTOS e BARBOSA, 2020;PENG et al, 2020;PEREIRA et al, 2020). Siebert et al (2020) recomendam a utilização de respirador e máscara cirúrgica em todos os procedimentos e, caso seja possível, o recobrimento da face do paciente com lençol cirúrgico para evitar transferência de aerossóis pela respiração nasal.…”

“…A teleodontologia é citada como um importante meio de comunicação entre profissional e paciente, reduzindo contato entre eles e colaborando com as recomendações da OMS, embora alguns autores indiquem que essa ferramenta apresenta algumas limitações na Odontologia, área em que, na maioria das situações, necessita de contato e visualização direta do paciente (BANUSHALIN et al, 2020;BARABARI e MOHARAMZADEH, 2020;GUGNANI e GUGNANI, 2020;GURGEL et al, 2020;JUREMA et al, 2020;ODEH et al, 2020).…”

“…O bochecho prévio ao atendimento com iodopovidona a 0.2% parece reduzir a carga viral na cavidade oral. O peróxido de hidrogênio a 0.5-1% pode ser utilizado para oferecer proteção adicional contra infecções, embora não haja um potencial virucida comprovado contra o coronavírus (ATHER et al, 2020;GUGNANI e GUGNANI, 2020;GURGEL et al, 2020;PEREIRA et al, 2020;SIEBERT et al, 2020).…”

“…Sempre que possível, deve-se fazer uso do isolamento absoluto, preferencialmente cobrindo o nariz, visando diminuir a propagação de gotículas. Minimizar o uso de instrumentos ultrassônicos e seringa tríplice, para reduzir a geração de aerossóis (ATHER et al, 2020;GURGEL et al, 2020).…”