COVID-19 Considerations in Pediatric Dentistry

Abstract

One of the most important current medical concerns across the globe is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which has been designated by the World Health Organization as a novel viral pneumonia named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 has substantially affected all aspects of human lives and forced most people to self-quarantine themselves and stay home in order to remain safe. As pediatric dentists as a part of the health care system deferring elective procedures, we are obliged to manage emergency situations such as cellulitis, severe tooth pain, and dental trauma. Therefore, we need to beware of the symptoms and risks of the emerging disease and, accordingly, change the policies in our offices to minimize the risk of transmission while checking up and treating our patients in the safest possible way. Knowledge Transfer Statement: This article aims to acquaint clinicians treating pediatric patients with COVID-19 hazards and delineate the steps required for minimizing cross-infection in case of providing emergency treatment to children in dental offices.

Global concerns of dental and oral health workers during COVID-19 outbreak: a scope study on the concerns and the coping strategies

“…(2) initial open codes were identified based on the research question; (3) codes were reviewed, categorized and finalized; (4) revision and categorization of the final themes to develop main themes and sub-themes; (5) the main themes and sub-themes were revised through an Fig. 2 The status of included articles according to their place and design [20][21][22][23][24] Economic repercussions [20] Economic aid from the government [20,25] Additional costs of control infection [20,22,26] Ethical concerns Patient privacy [27] Effectiveness of new technologies on population health [27][28][29][30] Focus on essential and emergency cares [23,24,26,27,[31][32][33][34] Postpone routine orthodontic appointments [27] Concerns on fitness with international regulations [28] Social concerns Lack of population's adequate digital literacy [28] High perceived distress and need for preparedness [35,36] Feelings of anxiety and fear [32,37] Psychological health and mental wellness of the workers [33] Professional concerns Impacts of the future of professional [25,38] Immediate impact on dental health care [36,38] Impacts of management of patients with special needs [39,40] Medico-legal concerns [36] various h...…”

“…The main repeated sub-theme was the obligation for restricting dental health services to the emergency conditions at the expense of preventive procedures. The emergency conditions may include those cases experiencing severe pain and discomfort [27,37] or those who need hospital-based services [15,21]. Other concerns are related to new issues such as the effectiveness of teledentistry [28][29][30][31] and lack of patients' privacy via the teleconsultation methods [28].…”

Procedimientos libres de aerosol ante COVID-19 en odontología pediátrica

“…Sin embargo, aun siendo asintomáticos, sigue existiendo un riesgo de contagio. 5,6 La sintomatología previamente descrita puede tener diferentes niveles de compromiso (asintomática, severa y crítica). El periodo de incubación es de hasta 14 días y los síntomas pudiesen aparecer en promedio alrededor del sexto día.…”

“…7 El modelo de transmisión de este nuevo coronavirus y su virulencia implican contagio humano de forma directa e indirecta, propagándose a través de saliva, gotas y fluidos respiratorios de pacientes enfermos de COVID-19. 2,5 Durante la pandemia tanto niños como adultos deben ser considerados potencialmente infecciosos y debido a la forma de propagación del virus, trabajadores de la salud, así como sus procedimientos médicos y en particular estomatológicos, tienen gran riesgo de desarrollar una infección cruzada al generar aerosoles que se asocian a la transmisión de enfermedades respiratorias. 6 Cabe aclarar que el COVID-19 no sólo se transmite por medio de los aerosoles, también a través del contacto con superficies de equipos, instrumental y mobiliario, ya que puede tener un alcance de hasta dos metros, pudiendo albergar al virus hasta por 72 horas.…”

“…1,7,8 El profesional de salud oral se encuentra en un constante riesgo debido a la proximidad física con el paciente, al uso continuo de instrumental generador de aerosoles, exposición a microorganismos patógenos, sangre, saliva y virus presentes en la boca y tracto respiratorio, pudiendo inhalar el aerosol contaminado, entrar en contacto con la piel o mucosa y permanecer en las superficies del consultorio. 1,5,9 El objetivo de este escrito es resumir algunas alternativas que pueden utilizarse en la práctica de odontología pediátrica sin correr altos riesgos de transmisión de COVID-19 generados por aerosoles contaminados y disminuir la propagación del virus.…”