COVID-19 Management in Clinical Dental Care Part III: Patients and the Dental Office. 2021

Paulo Melo, and Patricia Manarte-Monteiro, and Nélio Veiga, and André Brandão de Almeida, and Pedro Mesquita
EpiUnit, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: paulomelopt@gmail.com.

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically changed all aspects of life. In the context of clinical dental care, a significant number of new recommendations have been implemented to comply with public health policies, ensuring the safety of dental care professionals, staff, and patients and preventing further spread of the virus. This article is the third in a series of 3 on the management of COVID-19 in clinical dental care and presents a set of recommendations and standards to be implemented in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include remote contact with all patients for triage and guidance before scheduling a clinical visit to know if they have COVID symptoms or are positive for COVID, if they belong to a risk group, and if there is a suggestion that aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) will be required during their visit. It also reviews additional precautionary measures in the waiting room and reception area, where the environment is reorganised to protect patients and clinical staff, avoiding situations that could result in cross contamination. The dental office operates under a strict set of guidelines, namely, use of personal protective equipment by professionals, contact with patients, a strategy to avoid aerosol-generating procedures, as well as disinfection procedures for the dental office before, during, and after each patient visit. The implementation of these protocols to mitigate cross infection and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the dental office will help improve safety and restore the confidence required to provide dental care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003729 Dental Care The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982). Care, Dental
D003770 Dental Offices The room or rooms in which the dentist and dental staff provide care. Offices include all rooms in the dentist's office suite. Dental Office,Office, Dental,Offices, Dental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000086382 COVID-19 A viral disorder generally characterized by high FEVER; COUGH; DYSPNEA; CHILLS; PERSISTENT TREMOR; MUSCLE PAIN; HEADACHE; SORE THROAT; a new loss of taste and/or smell (see AGEUSIA and ANOSMIA) and other symptoms of a VIRAL PNEUMONIA. In severe cases, a myriad of coagulopathy associated symptoms often correlating with COVID-19 severity is seen (e.g., BLOOD COAGULATION; THROMBOSIS; ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME; SEIZURES; HEART ATTACK; STROKE; multiple CEREBRAL INFARCTIONS; KIDNEY FAILURE; catastrophic ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID ANTIBODY SYNDROME and/or DISSEMINATED INTRAVASCULAR COAGULATION). In younger patients, rare inflammatory syndromes are sometimes associated with COVID-19 (e.g., atypical KAWASAKI SYNDROME; TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME; pediatric multisystem inflammatory disease; and CYTOKINE STORM SYNDROME). A coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in the genus BETACORONAVIRUS is the causative agent. 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease,2019 Novel Coronavirus Infection,2019-nCoV Disease,2019-nCoV Infection,COVID-19 Pandemic,COVID-19 Pandemics,COVID-19 Virus Disease,COVID-19 Virus Infection,Coronavirus Disease 2019,Coronavirus Disease-19,SARS Coronavirus 2 Infection,SARS-CoV-2 Infection,Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection,COVID19,2019 nCoV Disease,2019 nCoV Infection,2019-nCoV Diseases,2019-nCoV Infections,COVID 19,COVID 19 Pandemic,COVID 19 Virus Disease,COVID 19 Virus Infection,COVID-19 Virus Diseases,COVID-19 Virus Infections,Coronavirus Disease 19,Disease 2019, Coronavirus,Disease, 2019-nCoV,Disease, COVID-19 Virus,Infection, 2019-nCoV,Infection, COVID-19 Virus,Infection, SARS-CoV-2,Pandemic, COVID-19,SARS CoV 2 Infection,SARS-CoV-2 Infections,Virus Disease, COVID-19,Virus Infection, COVID-19
D000086402 SARS-CoV-2 A species of BETACORONAVIRUS causing atypical respiratory disease (COVID-19) in humans. The organism was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. The natural host is the Chinese intermediate horseshoe bat, RHINOLOPHUS affinis. 2019 Novel Coronavirus,COVID-19 Virus,COVID19 Virus,Coronavirus Disease 2019 Virus,SARS Coronavirus 2,SARS-CoV-2 Virus,Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2,Wuhan Coronavirus,Wuhan Seafood Market Pneumonia Virus,2019-nCoV,2019 Novel Coronaviruses,COVID 19 Virus,COVID-19 Viruses,COVID19 Viruses,Coronavirus 2, SARS,Coronavirus, 2019 Novel,Coronavirus, Wuhan,Novel Coronavirus, 2019,SARS CoV 2 Virus,SARS-CoV-2 Viruses,Virus, COVID-19,Virus, COVID19,Virus, SARS-CoV-2,Viruses, COVID19
D017053 Infection Control Programs of disease surveillance, generally within health care facilities, designed to investigate, prevent, and control the spread of infections and their causative microorganisms. Control, Infection
D058873 Pandemics Epidemics of infectious disease that have spread to many countries, often more than one continent, and usually affecting a large number of people. Pandemic

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