COVID-19 Considerations in Dental Care

As the world prepared to celebrate a turning over of a new leaf for a new decade on 31st December 2019, a low profile unwelcome guest was introduced to the party at Wuhan City in China named COVID-19. Not much notice was initially taken, but the now infamous novel disease seems to have changed the world forever. Initially presenting as a low-grade, flu-like illness, it has now established itself as a worldwide pandemic with far reaching, severe and all-too-often tragic consequences.

Caused by the single-stranded RNA virus, SARS-CoV-2, COronaVIrusDisease-2019 has now become more infamous than its previously known cousins, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Unlike a carrier of the common cold or influenza virus that may infect 1-2 people, an individual with COVID-19 is likely to infect 2-3 people when in direct contact and close proximity.¹ It does not seem to be heavily contagious through breathing, but via contact with droplets or contaminated surfaces that eventually lead to introduction to the body through mucosal surfaces via the eyes, nose and mouth. Many individuals may present with mild to moderate symptoms and may even have no detectable manifestations at all, meaning the community may well have a substantial number of ‘silent super-spreaders’, some of whom may be our patients. The only realistic method of combatting the spread is to minimize individual-to-individual close contact, frequent hand-washing and sanitization, and to disinfect surfaces stringently.