Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Oct;32 Suppl 21(Suppl 21):342-352.
doi: 10.1111/clr.13783.

Dental care during COVID-19 pandemic: Follow-up survey of experts' opinion

Giulia Brunello  1   2 , Katarzyna Gurzawska-Comis  3 , Kathrin Becker  4 , Jürgen Becker  1 , Stefano Sivolella  2 , Frank Schwarz  5 , Björn Klinge  6   7
Affiliations
Review

Dental care during COVID-19 pandemic: Follow-up survey of experts' opinion

Giulia Brunello et al. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of the present survey is to give an update of European experts' opinion on infection control and prevention in dentistry during second wave of pandemic. The secondary aim was to analyze how experts' opinion changed in the light of the new scientific evidence since the first wave.

Material & methods: An anonymous online 14-item questionnaire was sent to a total of 27 leading academic experts in Oral (and Maxillofacial) Surgery from different European countries, who had completed a previous survey in April-May 2020. The questionnaire covered the topics of dental setting safety, personal protective equipment (PPE), and patient-related measures to minimize transmission risk. Data collection took place in November-February 2020/21.

Results: 26 experts participated in the follow-up survey. The overall transmission risk in dental settings was scored significantly lower compared to the initial survey (p < .05), though the risk associated with aerosol-generating procedures (AGP) was still considered to be high. Maximum PPE was less frequently recommended for non-AGP (p < .05), whereas the majority of experts still recommended FFP2/FFP3 masks (80.8%), face shields or goggles (88.5%), gowns (61.5%), and caps (57.7%) for AGP. Most of the experts also found mouth rinse relevant (73.1%) and reported to be using it prior to treatment (76.9%). No uniform opinion was found regarding the relevance of COVID-19 testing of staff and patients.

Conclusion: With the continuation of dental care provision, transmission risk has been scored lower compared to the first wave of pandemic. However, high risk is still assumed for AGP, and maximum PPE remained advised for the respective treatments.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; expert opinion; infection control and prevention; personal protective equipment; surveys and questionnaire.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest related to this study.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Absolute number of experts’ votes regarding the perceived risk for aerosol‐free procedures (non‐AGP) and aerosol‐generating procedures (AGP) for infection risk of dental health professionals
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Relevance scoring for the use of different measures to decrease transmission risk of coronavirus disease 2019 in dental settings
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Relevance of applied patient‐related measures to decrease transmission risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in dental settings
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Information about where dental care was provided for patients with a high risk of coronavirus disease 2019
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Recommended personal protective equipment measures during aerosol‐free procedures (non‐AGP). COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Recommended personal protective equipment measures during aerosol‐generating procedures. COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allison, J. R. , Currie, C. C. , Edwards, D. C. , Bowes, C. , Coulter, J. , Pickering, K. , Kozhevnikova, E. , Durham, J. , Nile, C. J. , Jakubovics, N. , Rostami, N. , & Holliday, R. (2021). Evaluating aerosol and splatter following dental procedures: Addressing new challenges for oral health care and rehabilitation. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 48(1), 61–72. 10.1111/joor.13098 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Banakar, M. , Bagheri Lankarani, K. , Jafarpour, D. , Moayedi, S. , Banakar, M. H. , & MohammadSadeghi, A. (2020). COVID‐19 transmission risk and protective protocols in dentistry: A systematic review. BMC Oral Health, 20(1), 275. 10.1186/s12903-020-01270-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker, K. , Brunello, G. , Gurzawska‐Comis, K. , Becker, J. , Sivolella, S. , Schwarz, F. , & Klinge, B. (2020). Dental care during COVID‐19 pandemic: Survey of experts' opinion. Clinical Oral Implants Research, 31(12), 1253–1260. 10.1111/clr.13676 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker, K. , Gurzawska‐Comis, K. , Brunello, G. , & Klinge, B. (2021). Summary of European guidelines on infection control and prevention during COVID‐19 pandemic. Clinical Oral Implants. (in press). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chan, J.‐W. , Yuan, S. , Kok, K.‐H. , To, K.‐W. , Chu, H. , Yang, J. , Xing, F. , Liu, J. , Yip, C.‐Y. , Poon, R.‐S. , Tsoi, H.‐W. , Lo, S.‐F. , Chan, K.‐H. , Poon, V.‐M. , Chan, W.‐M. , Ip, J. D. , Cai, J.‐P. , Cheng, V.‐C. , Chen, H. , … Yuen, K.‐Y. (2020). A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person‐to‐person transmission: A study of a family cluster. The Lancet, 395(10223), 514–523. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30154-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed