The Response of an Oral Surgery Department during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel and some routine activity beginning, we are slowly adapting to our new ‘normal’. The question is when will true normality resume, and what the effect this momentary pause will have for the future of our profession.At the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals, a new service was established during the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide urgent dental care to the communities of North, East and Central London. We use this article to share our experiences and approach of tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in a busy elective Oral Surgery department, where there was not an existing urgent dental care service. This article demonstrates the steps, processes and considerations taken in setting up an urgent dental hub in a short period of time to tackle the consequence of the global pandemic on dental care. We highlight the management strategy implemented including the barriers and challenges faced by an urgent dental care centre at a time when primary dental care was unavailable, highlighting the lessons learnt that can be used and further developed in the case of a further peak or pandemic in the future.