From Standard Controls for Prevention Infection in the Dental Practice to COVID-19 Guidelines for Minimizing Risk of Transmission

Abstract

The recent spread of COVID-19 infection and its associated disease has gripped the entire international community and caused widespread public health concerns. Despite global efforts to contain the disease spread, the outbreak is still on a rise because of the community spread pattern of this infection. Responsible behavior of dentists, aimed at stopping the spread of the virus from dental offices showed that only emergency procedures were to be performed, in cases of toothache, trauma and odontogenic infections that might put organs or systems at risk. At the same time, with the cessation of all types of treatments, there was an immediate cessation of teaching processes in all university settings for dental medicine, since the data from World Health Organization strongly suggested death rates among doctors and students in close contact with infected persons. Guidelines for minimizing risk of COVID-19 transmission in dental clinics have been fabricated together with responsible behavior in dental medicine; will result with a staged inclusion of teachers, students, researchers and clinicians in everyday work. While we are expecting an efficient vaccine, the only way to counter the virus are epidemiological measures and responsible behavior of every individual, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 virus.