Dental care management during the COVID‐19 outbreak

Abstract

Aim The level of preparedness of the healthcare system plays an important role in management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). This study attempted to devise a comprehensive protocol regarding dental care during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Methods and result Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched until March 2020 for relevant papers. Sixteen English papers were enrolled to answer questions about procedures that are allowed to perform during the COVID‐19 outbreak, patients who are in priority to receive dental care services, the conditions and necessities for patient admission, waiting room and operatory room, and personal protective equipment (PPE) that is necessary for dental clinicians and the office staff. Conclusion Dental treatment should be limited to patients with urgent or emergency situation. By screening questionnaires for COVID‐19, patients are divided into three groups of (a) apparently healthy, (b) suspected for COVID‐19, and (c) confirmed for COVID‐19. Separate waiting and operating rooms should be assigned to each group of patients to minimize the risk of disease transmission. All groups should be treated with the same protective measures with regard to PPE for the dental clinicians and staff.

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Emergency Admissions in an Urgent Dental Care Service in North Italy

“…Outpatient dental care was strongly reduced during lockdown and struggled to recover the following months as there were particular concerns about aerosol generating procedures (AGP) such as teeth cleaning, sealants, and restorative treatments. Italian and international guidelines have recommended avoiding AGP as much as possible, and to choose alternative treatments or postpone therapies whenever possible [13,24,25,28,31]. This might have influenced children's oral health needs, since they no longer had easy access to free dental treatments provided by the Regional Health System (RHS) in Lombardy (i.e., preventive, restorative therapy) and found difficulties in turning toward private practitioners.…”

“…Emergency admissions were strongly reduced during the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide, as suggested by previous studies reporting a variable reduction in visitors ranging from 38% to 80% [ 22 , 23 ]. National and international guidelines released by the different Dental Associations have advocated limiting dental activities to emergencies and urgent life-threatening conditions in order to encourage social distancing [ 13 , 24 , 25 ]. It was reported that private dental practitioners had coped with many dental urgencies through phone triage, sending drug prescriptions via email, and conducting online consultation via smartphones, tablets, or PCs [ 26 ].…”

Systematic Literature Review on Coronavirus Infectious Disease-19 and Dental Masks

“…The National Health Service (NHS) recommends the use of FFP3 masks in aerosol-generating processes 20) .…”

“…with COVID-19 30) . Wearing a dental mask protects against fluids splashing into the respiratory tract from the nasal and oral cavities 20) . The most frequently used PPEs in dental clinics in Italy were protective glasses (90.55%), disposable gloves (90.10%), and dental masks (82.80%)…”

“…Dentists have reported that dental masks are insufficient in preventing cross-infection of COVID-19 and that N95 masks should be worn routinely 30) . It has been reported that, while dental masks are recommended for office staff who do not directly handle patients, N95 masks should be used for staff who work in clinics with a unit chair 20) .…”