DENTISTRY AFTER COVID-19

Dr. Samarth Kumar Agarwal, *Dr. Kanesha Abrol and Dr. Romil Singhal

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of Coronavirus in the past three months has become a public health crisis of global concern. It is a zoonotic infection that is believed to be originated from bats and pangolins and later transmitted to humans. Human transmission occurs via respiratory droplet/contact. WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic due to the alarming levels of spread and severity. In response to the current threat, many countries have employed various containment strategies to protect people from health risk and avoid strain on the national healthcare systems worldwide. However despite the extensive efforts, this outbreak is still on the rise due to the community spread. In such a scenario, due to direct communication and consistent exposure to body fluids such as blood and saliva, the risk of cross infection can be very high among the dental health care workers. Therefore, this article highlights the information pertaining to possible source of spread of COVID 19 among clinical operatory. In addition, it provides information regarding the infection control strategies and patient management protocols to provide optimum dental care and simultaneously prevent nosocomial infection in dental settings.

Keywords: Coronavirus, Covid19, Dentistry, Public Health, Dental Care.