scholarly journals COVID-19 in Dental Practice: Transmission Risk, Infection Control Challenge, and Clinical Implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 348-354
Author(s):  
Salwa A. Aldahlawi ◽  
Ibtesam K. Afifi
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Modes Of Transmission ◽  
Dental Patients ◽  
Asymptomatic Patients

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a worldwide, significant public health challenge. Dental care providers are at high risk due to the nature of their profession, which necessitates close proximity to the patient's oropharyngeal region and the use of droplet and aerosol-generating procedures. Methods: A review of the evolving literature on the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Published articles addressing SARS-CoV2 transmission modes and risks, and infection control procedures required in the dental office to protect dental patients and health care providers were assessed. Also, clinical guidelines on the management of dental patients during the pandemic were reviewed. Results: The established modes of transmission of SARS-CoV2 appear to be through respiratory droplets and through close contact with either symptomatic or asymptomatic patients. In addition to standard precautions of infection control widely followed in dental practices, extra precautionary measures are needed to control the spread of this highly infectious disease. Dental treatment during the pandemic is limited to emergent and urgent cases after a meticulous patient risk assessment and dental needs are triaged to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission and avoid cross-contamination. Conclusion: Dentists should be aware of the recently updated knowledge about COVID-19 modes of transmission and the recommended infection control measures in dental settings. Effective management protocols to regulate droplet and aerosol contamination in the dental clinic should be implemented to deliver dental care in a safe environment.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Infection Control Measures in a Public Sector Dental Hospital of Peshawar

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-36
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdullah ◽  
Saira Afridi ◽  
Syed Imran Gillani
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Infection Control Measure ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Dental Hospital

Objective:To evaluate infection control measure in a public sector dental hospital of Peshawar.Methodology:It was a cross sectional study conducted in Khyber college of Dentistry. Study subjects were Dental health care providers who were willing to participate in the study. A structured questionnaire was designed that included various categories of infection control. Data was entered into SPSS version 17. Descriptive statistics were applied and frequencies and percentages were obtained.Results:The results from the data shows that the overall score for the infection control standards were less than 50%. Among the various categories of infection control only personal hygiene standards showed good score (77.3%). Personal protective equipment score was adequate (61%) while hand hygiene score was inadequate (52%). The rest of the categories showed poor scores.Conclusion:The result of the study shows that majority of categories of infection control measures at Khyber college of Dentistry are inadequate or poor.

Nurses' Practices Toward Applying Infection Control Measures Using NOTICE Checklists at a Dialysis Unit

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-101
Author(s):  
M Bayoumi ◽  
A Ahmed ◽  
H Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Maintenance Hemodialysis ◽  
Dialysis Access ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Dialysis Unit ◽  
Av Fistula ◽  
Infection Control Measures

BackgroundPatients on maintenance hemodialysis therapy and health-care providers at unique, complex units such as hemodialysis outpatient clinics are susceptible for health care-associated infection. Nurses' compliance to follow infection control measures reduces transmission of infection.AimThe study aimed to evaluate the nurses' practices toward applying infection control measures at a dialysis unit.Methods and DesignA cross-sectional study was applied to evaluate nurses' performance toward application of infection control measures using National Opportunity to Improve Infection Control in End-stage renal disease (NOTICE) checklists at a dialysis unit in Beni-Suef City, Egypt.ResultsThe overall nurses' performance regarding infection control at enrolled dialysis units were: the percentage of all NOTICE checklists demonstrated that half of nurses had met most steps for checklist #1c Access of AV Fistula or Graft for Initiation of Dialysis (55.87%), ICE Checklist #2: Parenteral Medication Preparation and Administration (48.13%), and ICE Checklist #3b: Access of AV Fistula or Graft for Termination of Dialysis and Post Dialysis Access Care (48.1%); the lowest level of performance found was ICE Checklist #1b: Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Exit Site Care (22.8%). In addition, the first and second observations noticed that nurses ignore hand hygiene, and were not committed to wearing clean gloves as needed.ConclusionBased on the findings of this study, using of NOTICE assessment checklists and highlighting the importance of developing and following strict infection control systems at dialysis units focuses on nursing staff to prevent infection transmission especially, with chronic patients on maintenance hemodialysis therapy.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Care during a National Lockdown: A Retrospective Observational Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7963
Author(s):  
Elias Walter ◽  
Leonard von Bronk ◽  
Reinhard Hickel ◽  
Karin Christine Huth
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Dental Practices

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has challenged dental health professions. This study analyzes its impact on urgent dental care in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, University Hospital Munich and Bavaria, Germany. Patient numbers without and with positive/suspected COVID-19 infection, their reasons for attendance, and treatments were retrospectively recorded (February–July 2020) and linked to local COVID-19 infection numbers, control measures, and numbers/reasons for closures of private dental practices in Bavaria, Germany. Patient numbers decreased within the urgent care unit and the private dental practices followed by a complete recovery by the end of July. While non-emergency visits dropped to almost zero during the first lockdown, pain-related treatments were administered invariably also in patients with positive/suspected COVID-19 infections. Reasons for practice closures were lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), lack of employees, staff’s increased health risks, and infected staff, which accounted for 0.72% (3.6% closures in total). Pain-driven urgent dental care remains a constant necessity even in times of high infection risk, and measures established at the beginning of the pandemic seem to have provided a safe environment for patients as well as oral health care providers. PPE storage is important to ensure patients’ treatment under high-risk conditions, and its storage and provision by regulatory units might guarantee a stable and safe oral health care system in the future.

scholarly journals Infection control workshops for the whole dental team

2009 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-127
Author(s):  
Melanie Hook
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Care Providers

Infection control is of paramount importance for all health care providers and service users in private and NHS practice; daily, stories are published in the scientific and wider press highlighting or raising concerns on hygiene or cleanliness and infection control. All of the dental team have a responsibility to develop and assess their skills and knowledge. Since compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) for dental care professionals (DCPs) was introduced last year, the FGDP(UK) workshops have risen to the challenge, offering CPD-based learning for the integrated dental team without detracting from the daily workload and responsibilities.

scholarly journals Exposure Risks and Preventive Strategies Considered in Dental Care Settings to Combat Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

2020 ◽  
pp. 193758672095074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjeev B. Khanagar ◽  
Ali Al-Ehaideb ◽  
Satish Vishwanathaiah ◽  
Prabhadevi C. Maganur ◽  
Sachin Naik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Cross Contamination ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
Modes Of Transmission ◽  
Dental Procedures ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Control Protocols

In recent times, numerous scientific articles have been published on the risks of exposure to infectious microorganisms in dental care settings. The main mode of transmission of such infectious organisms is primarily through bioaerosols generated during routine dental procedures which put both dental care providers and their patients at an increased risk of exposure. Other frequent modes of infection transmission often reported include cross contamination and inadequate adoption of infection control protocols. The main objective of this article is to highlight the findings of those studies that have reported on the routes and modes of transmission of infectious organisms in dental settings, to report possibilities of cross contamination in dental care settings, and also to report any breach in adherence to infection control protocols in dental care settings. We also intend to emphasize on standard infection control protocols and strategies that need to be considered in dental care settings during disease outbreaks like coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

scholarly journals Prevention, Control and Safety of Health Care Providers during COVID-19: A Review Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shandiz Moslehi ◽  
Gholamreza Masoumi ◽  
Morteza Rostamian ◽  
Fahimeh Barghi Shirazi
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Centers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The World ◽  
And Control

Abstract Background: Infection prevention, control, and health workers’ safety in the face of biological agents are among the vital issues in healthcare systems across the world. Considering the high prevalence of COVID-19 infection in the world and its high mortality rate, this epidemic can be tackled to some extent through infection control in the general population and promoting the safety of health centers. This study aims to scrutinize the literature in terms of measures adopted for infection control and safety of healthcare workers in health centers during COVID-19.Methods: We searched key words related to the study namely, “prevention and control”, “safety”, “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, and “health personnel” in PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus databases, Google Scholar, and also in Persian data bases such as SID, Magiran, Irandoc, and Iran Medex using AND/OR functions. To select the documents, the titles of the retrieved studies were first evaluated for relevance; then, the abstracts and full texts of the papers with relevant titles were inspected. Results: Out of 136 retrieved studies, 10 were relevant and their data were analyzed. Four of the articles highlighted the importance of prevention, three enunciated the importance control and three of them related to care providers’ safety. The results showed that the COVID-19 epidemic has affected the healthcare providers’ health; however, it is possible to prevent a catastrophe through strategic planning, prevention and control measures. Conclusions: Considering the importance of the healthcare workers’ health, it is necessary to implement COVID-19 prevention and control management principles according to scientific evidence.

scholarly journals Sources of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Microorganisms in Dental Aerosols

2021 ◽  
pp. 002203452110159
Author(s):  
A.P. Meethil ◽  
S. Saraswat ◽  
P.P. Chaudhary ◽  
S.M. Dabdoub ◽  
P.S. Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Personal Protection ◽  
Personal Protection Equipment ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
16S Sequencing ◽  
Asymptomatic Patients

On March 16, 2020, 198,000 dentists in the United States closed their doors to patients, fueled by concerns that aerosols generated during dental procedures are potential vehicles for transmission of respiratory pathogens through saliva. Our knowledge of these aerosol constituents is sparse and gleaned from case reports and poorly controlled studies. Therefore, we tracked the origins of microbiota in aerosols generated during ultrasonic scaling, implant osteotomy, and restorative procedures by combining reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (to identify and quantify SARS-CoV-2) and 16S sequencing (to characterize the entire microbiome) with fine-scale enumeration and source tracking. Linear discriminant analysis of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distances revealed significant class separation between the salivary microbiome and aerosol microbiota deposited on the operator, patient, assistant, or the environment ( P < 0.01, analysis of similarities). We also discovered that 78% of the microbiota in condensate could be traced to the dental irrigant, while saliva contributed to a median of 0% of aerosol microbiota. We also identified low copy numbers of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the saliva of several asymptomatic patients but none in aerosols generated from these patients. Together, the bacterial and viral data encourage us to conclude that when infection control measures are used, such as preoperative mouth rinses and intraoral high-volume evacuation, dental treatment is not a factor in increasing the risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic patients and that standard infection control practices are sufficiently capable of protecting personnel and patients from exposure to potential pathogens. This information is of immediate urgency, not only for safe resumption of dental treatment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but also to inform evidence-based selection of personal protection equipment and infection control practices at a time when resources are stretched and personal protection equipment needs to be prioritized.

scholarly journals Knowledge and attitude towards infection control among supporting staffs of Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Chitwan

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-47
Author(s):  
M Lopchan ◽  
G Gurung ◽  
L Rajbanshi ◽  
C Osti ◽  
A Baniya
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Nosocomial Infections ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
College Teaching ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Regular Training

Nosocomial infections (NIs) are one of the most important health issues, particularly in developing countries, because these infections cause high mortality and morbidity, and economic and human resource loss as a consequence Nosocomial infections can be defined as those occurring within 48 hours of hospital admission, 3 days of discharge or 30 days of an operation. Many studies have examined risk factors of nosocomial infections. However, knowledge of frontline workers (attendants) in infection prevention have been reported rarely in developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of attendants working in different wards and OPDs about infection prevention. S: Data were collected from 100 attendants in Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital. Regarding the knowledge on hand washing, gloving and personal accessories for Infection Prevention, majority of the respondents had good knowledge ranging from 94-100%. Though hospital has established Infection Prevention Committee and regular training on infection prevention is provided to all the staffs, the data indicated that only 68% respondents were benefitted by the infection prevention training and proper use of virex solution to disinfect the equipment’s was found unsatisfactory. Infection control is the responsibility of all Health Care Facility (HCF) personnel. The goal of the infection control policies are to identify and reduce risks of acquiring and transmitting infections among patients, staff, students, volunteers, contract service workers, and visitors Although significant effort has been made to reduce the Nosocomial infections, regular training as well as monitoring supervision will enhance the capacity of the health care providers and front line workers for cleaning services they are our valued respondents.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v6i1.55069

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