| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 39
| Issue : 2 | Page : 120-131 |
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and Dentistry: A Summative Review of Guidelines issued by National Health Authorities
Gyanendra Kumar1, Neeraj Gugnani2, Dina Rabea3, Ruba Odeh4, Ferah Rehman1, Rihab Mabrouk5
1 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi, India
2 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, DAV Dental College, Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, India
3 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, AinShams University, Cairo, Egypt
4 Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE
5 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Monastir, Monastir University, Monastir, Tunisia
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Gyanendra Kumar
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_453_20
COVID-19 was first reported in China, in November 2019 and since then the spread of this disease was so rapid that on March 11, 2020, it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Due to the high transmissibility of the COVID virus and the associated morbidity and mortality, various International and National health authorities released different guidelines for day-to-day living, laying down “new norms” which has impacted our lives enormously. Although these guidelines seem to be convoluted but owing to some differences in the guidelines, it raises an ambiguity in the minds of dentists. Hence, we felt the need of this review to summarize different guidelines issued by various National health authorities for catering emergency and routine dental care. We included guidelines from CDC, ADA, NHS, India, UAE, Egypt, and Tunisia and compared and consolidated to reach a consensus that teledentistry is a good alternative to face-to-face management for nonemergency patients. Triage should be done for all patients coming to the health-care facility. Temperature and other vital parameters should be recorded in our daily practice. Antibacterial mouth rinses before the dental procedure can reduce the microbial load and therefore can alleviate transmission. To reduce indirect transmission through fomites on inanimate objects various waiting area changes must be ensured. Air conditioners can be used in well-serviced conditions with due care given to ventilation of the operatory after each patient. Strict disinfection protocols and personal protective equipment for dentist safety are mandatory.
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