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Review
. 2021 Oct 20;18(21):11008.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111008.

Dental Healthcare Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rabia Tariq Butt  1 , Omer Sefvan Janjua  2 , Sana Mehmood Qureshi  3 , Muhammad Saad Shaikh  4 , Julia Guerrero-Gironés  5 , Francisco J Rodríguez-Lozano  5   6 , Muhammad Sohail Zafar  7   8
Affiliations
Review

Dental Healthcare Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rabia Tariq Butt et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The hustle and bustle of the planet Earth have come to a halt thanks to the novel coronavirus. The virus has affected approximately 219 million people globally; taken the lives of 4.55 million patients as of September 2021; and created an ambiance of fear, social distancing, and economic instability. The purpose of this review article is to trace the historical origin and evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus is highly contagious with a unique feature of rapid mutations-the scientific research is paving the way for discoveries regarding novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis, features, prevention, and vaccination. The connections between the coronavirus pandemic and dental practices are essential because COVID-19 is transmitted by aerosols, fomites, and respiratory droplets, which are also produced during dental procedures, putting both the patient and the dentist at risk. The main emphasis of this paper is to highlight the psychological, economic, and social impact of this pandemic on dental practices throughout the world and under what circumstances and guidelines can dental health care be provided. In the current situation of the pandemic, an appropriate screening tool must be established either by using rapid molecular testing or saliva point-of-care technology, which will be effective in identifying as well as isolating the potential contacts and carriers in hopes to contain and mitigate infection. The blessing in disguise is that this virus has united the leaders, scientists, health care providers, and people of all professions from all around the world to fight against a common enemy.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; dental treatment; dentistry.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SARS-CoV-2 life cycle showing virus behaviour inside the body [21].
Figure 2
Figure 2
COVID-19 pathophysiology demonstrating disease progression from virus entrance in the body to causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) [21].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Showing exhalation distances of aerosols and droplets (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [31]. Copyright 2021 Elsevier.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Macroglossia with lateral indentations (left) geographic tongue (right) (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [79]. Copyright 2020 John Wiley and Sons.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SARS-CoV-2 mechanism of oral manifestations. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [92]. Copyright 2020 John Wiley and Sons.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Economic impact of COVID-19 on dental practices [95].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Aerosol-generating dental procedures and associated factors [135].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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