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COVID-19 is an unprecedented virus that is destroying the lives of many people worldwide. Dentistry as a profession falls into a high-risk group due to our close proximity to patients and the aerosols generated in routine dental procedures. The UK dental community has frantically searched for answers to questions about the new virus and guidance on provision of dental care. This article will review the most up-to-date recommendations for infection control procedures and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in England. PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar databases were searched up until 9 June. This is a review of the current information, guidelines and recommendations about the COVID-19 virus and use of PPE for dentists and orthodontists.
As of 9 June, the dental profession has received mixed guidance on how best to manage our patients whilst national lockdown is eased and we enter a recovery phase, but uncertainty remains for the long-term provision of Orthodontics.
CPD/Clinical Relevance: This article gives an overview of guidance and recommendations for dentists and orthodontists in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with regards to infection control and use of PPE.
Article
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared, on 30 January 2020, that the COVID-19 outbreak had become a public health emergency of international concern.1,2 The risk of cross-infection in dental settings can be high between patients and dental health care professionals (DHCP). Countries with COVID-19 needed to impose strict infection prevention and control measures in hospitals and dental practices.3
As COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom (UK), Public Health England and the National Health Service (NHS) were revising guidelines for personal protective equipment (PPE) for the health care professionals. This guidance was based on the recommendations of the WHO and available scientific evidence.4
As an orthodontist in the UK in the initial stage of the pandemic, it was difficult to obtain consistent information relevant to our profession. DHCPs routinely adopt ‘universal precautions’ for cross-infection control for all patients, however, it became apparent early on that this was not enough to protect us from COVID-19. There is understandably a lot of anxiety and concern, amongst the dental profession in the UK, as to how we deal with the current situation, and what the future will hold. This review aims to answer some of the questions that dental health care professionals have, as the death toll in UK from COVID-19 passes 51,000.
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