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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Eur J Dent 2020; 14(S 01): S165-S170
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1718641
Review Article

COVID-19 Pandemic: Oral Health Challenges and Recommendations

Fathima Fazrina Farook
1   Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2   King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Mohamed Nizam Mohamed Nuzaim
3   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
,
Khansa Taha Ababneh
1   Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2   King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulsalam Alshammari
1   Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2   King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Lubna Alkadi
1   Department of Preventive Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2   King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

The aim of this article is to shed light on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its oral effects and risk of nosocomial transmission to update the knowledge of dental health care workers. A thorough literature search of the PubMed/Embase/Web of Science/Cochrane central database was conducted to identify the impact of COVID-19 on oral health. We reviewed the recommendations on the recent guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infection control practices for dentistry, American Dental Association, and the World Health Organization. According to the available evidence, COVID-19 may have a negative impact on the oral health due to the infection itself and due to various other consequences such as therapeutic measures, xerostomia, and other complications of the COVID-19. In light of the above facts, dentists should be wary of the disease, its identification, mode of spread and impacts on the oral health. The dental personnel have been identified as at the highest risk of getting COVID-19 due to cross infection from contact with their patients and aerosols generated in routine dental procedures. As such, they should be aware of the modifications that need to be made to the practice to prevent transmission of the disease. It is evident that COVID-19 has a negative impact on the oral health and at the same time a significant transmission risk to the dental personnel and patients who visit the clinic. If the recommendations issued by the regulatory authorities are meticulously followed, the risk of disease transmission can be lessened.

Keywords

coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - oral health - recommendations - guidelines - dental practice


Publication History

Article published online:
24 November 2020

© 2020. European Journal of Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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