scholarly journals Safe dental practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-120
Author(s):  
Joo Ming Cheong

 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused widespread public health concerns and many disruptions in our daily life. Dental professionals may encounter patients with COVID-19 infections in their practice. This technical report provides suggestions andrecommendations for implementing infection control in the dental office during COVID-19 pandemic.

Author(s):  
AAHELI BANERJEE ◽  
AINDRILA GHOSH ◽  
SHABNAM ZAHIR ◽  
GAUTAM KUNDU

The pandemic spread of COVID -19 infection has gripped the entire world and caused public health concerns. The pathogen of this zoonotic infection is believed to be present in abundance in the nasopharynx and saliva of the affected patients and spreads through respiratory droplets. The dentists, including the paediatric dentists may come across suspected or confirmed infected patients and have to use their professional judgement not only in dealing with these patients but also to prevent nosocomial infections. This article aims to provide an overview of COVID- 19 disease, the characteristics of the infection in children, recommendations for paediatric dental practice and strategies to control the COVID-19 infections. KEYWORDS- Corona virus, paediatric dentistry, immunology, infection control.


2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Setiawan

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most complicated problems in infection control and disease prevention. Imported strains or group of similar strains called clones were introduced from other states within Australia and also from other countries. Western Australia (WA) MRSA clones known to be the most predominant clones circulating in Western Australia (WA). However, MRSA strains originally from other states and countries outside Australia (imported) have increased in number in the last decades. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of CA MRSA clones in Western Australia for the past 11 year’s period (2003-2013). There were 10 predominant clones of CA-MRSA circulating in WA with WA MRSA-1 (32,82%), Queensland (22,67 %) and WA MRSA-2 (22,67 %) clones as the top three predominant clones. The percentage of PVL positive CA-MRSA clones such as Queensland (Qld) clone has been increasing significantly (R2=0,67) from 2,38 % in 2002 to 25,69% in 2013. In contrast, the percentages of two major PVL negative clones, WA MRSA-1 and WA MRSA 2, have been decreasing nearly by half from 52,38 % to 27,71 % and 30,95 % to 16,59 % respectively in the last 11 years. PVL positive clones have been introduced in WA from other states and overseas in the last eleven years. Due to the virulence factor of PVL toxin, the emergence of PVL positive CA-MRSA should be considered as public health concerns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bassel Tarakji ◽  
Mohammad Zakaria Nassani ◽  
Faisal Mehsen Alali ◽  
Abdulwahab A. Abuderman

BACKGROUND፡ Coronavirus disease 2019 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. This study aimed to address the preventive procedures to protect healthcare workers at hospital to avoid COVID-19, and infection control procedures to protect dental professionals in dental office.METHODS: We conducted a search of published articles from PubMed, google scholar databases using key words such as COVID-19, healthcare worker, infection control, and dental practice. Relevant articles were identified and reviewed. Most published papers were clinical reports and case studies. We have selected some of the current published papers written in English in 2020.RESULTS: Infection control procedures to protect health workers at hospitals, and dental professionals at dental office were summurised and presented. Infection control procedures for healthcare workers at hospitals include Personal protective equipment, Korea filter (KF)94 respirator, goggles, face protector,disposable waterproof long-arm gown, and gloves, and others. Extra-protection procedures should be taken with old and vulnerable healthcare workers. Dental professionals should evaluate patients in advance before starting dental treatment. Aerosols generating procedures should be avoided and personal protective equipment should be used. Dental treatment should be restricted to emergency cases only.CONCLUSION: Old medical staff should be in safer distance to avoid infection, but young physicians and nurses should work at frontline as their immunity is better than their colleagues at old age. Screening patients and measurement of the body temperature are essential measures before dental treatment.


Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 644
Author(s):  
Syed Sarosh Mahdi ◽  
Zohaib Ahmed ◽  
Raheel Allana ◽  
Alessandro Peretti ◽  
Francesco Amenta ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: The aims of this systematic review were to identify additional infection control measures implemented in dental practice globally to prevent cross-infection and evaluate the psychological impacts of the pandemic among dental professionals. Materials and Methods: A sequential systematic literature search was conducted from December 2019 to 30 April 2020 through PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The search yielded the following results: “COVID-19” (n = 12,137), “Novel corona virus” (n = 63), “COVID-19 and dentistry” (n = 46), “COVID-19 and oral health” (n = 41), “Novel Corona virus and Dentistry” (n = 0), “dental health and Novel Coronavirus” (n = 26), and “dental practice and Novel Coronavirus” (n = 6). Results: After a careful review and eliminating articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final review included 13 articles. Management of infection control is discussed extensively in the literature and remains the main theme of many Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) articles on dentistry. Telephone triage using a questionnaire, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE) for clinical and nonclinical staff, a preprocedural mouth rinse, and aerosol management have been discussed and implemented in few countries. Three studies recommended that elective treatments for patients with a temperature of >100.4 F or 38 °C should be postponed or performed in an airborne infection isolation room (AIIR) or negative-pressure room. Limiting the number of patients in the waiting area, the removal of shared objects, proper ventilation, and physical distancing were highly recommended. Psychological distress among dental professionals in relation to existing medical conditions and self-efficacy has been discussed. Conclusions: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the dental profession worldwide, our review highlights many practice management approaches to adopt the new norm. More research highlighting evidence-based safety practices and multisectoral collaboration is required to help dental professionals make informed decisions and make the profession safe, both for the patient and dental professionals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 653-658
Author(s):  
Roshan A ◽  
Jeevitha M ◽  
Sridevi G

Given the existence of a standardized tool and infection control recommendations for COVID-19, many dental professionals lack the minimum infection control requirements. As the disease outbreak continues to evolve and health centres respond to unique situations in their communities, the Department of Health recognizes that dental settings may also be necessary to provide non-emergency dental care. The dental environment will balance the need to include the resources available whilst reducing the harm to patients and dental health staff. The aim of the study is to assess the awareness of infection control in dental practice in the COVID-19 outbreak among dental practitioners. A Self-administered questionnaire was designed based on awareness of infection control for a dental practice in the COVID-19 outbreak. The questionnaire was distributed through an online google form link. The study population included dental professionals in Tamil Nadu. The data was collected and statistically analysed. 81% use PPE (personal protective equipment) during the procedure, 82.7% of patients are made to rinse their mouth with an antimicrobial mouth rinse before the dental procedure. Based on the findings, awareness level and infection control in dental practice can be improved.


Author(s):  
Manuela Gonçalves de Souza e Silva SILVEIRA ◽  
Matheus dos Santos FERNANDEZ ◽  
Thais Freitas Formozo TILLMANN ◽  
Júlia Freire DANIGNO ◽  
Mariana Silveira ECHEVERRIA ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to discuss biosafety measures described in the main protocols for minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission during dental care. COVID-19 appeared in China in late 2019 and quickly spread to other countries. Factors inherent to dental practice, such as proximity to the patient, transmission through saliva and breath, and the generation of aerosols during procedures, place the dental team at the top of the list among the most vulnerable healthcare providers. Health authorities initially recommended only maintaining urgent and emergency care and suspending elective dental procedures. Currently, elective care is gradually being resumed and requires numerous adjustments to the environment and professional routine in terms of biosafety. Several methods had been recommended to prevent the spread of other infectious diseases prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. However, further modifications are needed for the waiting room, patient screening and flow, procedures, garments, and even in dental office itself. Thus, dental professionals need to be prepared to adopt the new recommendations in order to reduce the chance of disease transmission.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hogg ◽  
Patricia Houston ◽  
Carmel Martin ◽  
Raphael Saginur ◽  
Adriana Newbury ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kunal Parikh ◽  
Tanvi Makadia ◽  
Harshil Patel

Dengue is unquestionably one of the biggest health concerns in India and for many other developing countries. Unfortunately, many people have lost their lives because of it. Every year, approximately 390 million dengue infections occur around the world among which 500,000 people are seriously infected and 25,000 people have died annually. Many factors could cause dengue such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, inadequate public health, and many others. In this paper, we are proposing a method to perform predictive analytics on dengue’s dataset using KNN: a machine-learning algorithm. This analysis would help in the prediction of future cases and we could save the lives of many.


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