Abstract

Objective: This review aims to critically evaluate the guidelines with respect to slow dentistry in clinical practice, education and well-being for staff and students in the post COVID-19 era.

Subject: According to the data released on 14 October, cases of COVID-19 have been spotted in 215 different countries, with 38,688,225 total cases, 1,095,492 deaths and 29,035,243 recoveries. Since presence of asymptomatic infected cases is an unfortunate reality with COVID-19 and creating aerosols is a common occurrence in dentistry, the risk of cross-infection is high for patients and healthcare providers during dental procedures.

Results: Clinicians have treated emergency cases only to prevent possible spread of the virus at the beginning of the pandemic and during the lockdowns in various countries. The Disease Control and Prevention Centers have announced strict infection control protocols. Aerosol creating procedures are conducted preferentially in separate clinics with additional control measures and with longer intervals between patients to ensure a slow and safe re-opening.

Conclusion: The critical training of dental teams including students regarding the infection control procedures is of utmost importance. The ‘slow movement’ is another solution to manage the post-COVID-19 to provide the optimum patient care and student learning experiences. In addition, well-being of dental teams and students are paramount during these unprecedented times.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dentistry; Aerosols; Prevention; Slow Dentistry

References

1. Zhu N., et al. “A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019”. The New England Journal of Medicine 382 (2020): 727-733.
2. Lu R., et al. “Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding”. Lancet 395 (2020): 565-574.
3. Li Q., et al. “Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia”. The New England Journal of Medicine 382 (2020): 1199-1207.
4. Huang C., et al. “Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China”. Lancet (2020): 497-506.
5. Mahase E. “China coronavirus: WHO declares international emergency as death toll exceeds 200”. BMJ 368 (2020): m408.
6. Antonovics J., et al. “The evolution of transmission mode”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 372 (2017): 20160083.
7. Sabino-Silva R., et al. “Coronavirus COVID-19 impacts to dentistry and potential salivary diagnosis”. Clinical Oral Investigations4 (2020): 1619-1621.
8. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Dental Settings During the COVID-19 Response (2020a).
9. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Personal protective equipment (PPE) needs in healthcare settings for the care of patients with suspected or confirmed novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), February (2020).
10. World Health Organization (WHO). Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19 (2020).
11. Szymanska J. “Dental Bioaerosols as an occupational hazard in dentist’s workplace”. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 14 (2007): 203-207.
12. Harrel SK and Molinari J. “Aerosols and splatter in dentistry”. JADA 135 (2004): 429-437.
13. Leggat PA and Kedjarune U. “Bacterial aerosols in dental clinic: a review”. International Dental Journal 51 (2001): 39-44.
14. Micik RE., et al. “Studies on dental aerobiology. I. Bacterial aerosols generated during dental procedures”. Journal of Dental Research 48 (1969): 49-56.
15. Odeh ND., et al. “COVID-19: present and future challenges for dental practice”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 9 (2020): 3151-3161.
16. Yoon JG., et al. “Clinical significance of a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load in saliva”. Journal of Korean Medical Science 20 (2020): 1-6.
17. Barabari P and Moharamzadeh K. “Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and dentistry-a comprehensive review of literature”. Dentistry Journal 8 (2020): 53-71.
18. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Decontamination and reuse of filtering facepiece respirators (2020b).
19. Kobayashi LM., et al. “Extended use or reuse of N95 respirators during COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of national regulatory authority recommendations”. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (2020): 1-3.
20. Feng S., et al. “Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic”. Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2020).
21. US Food and Drug Administration FDA (2020).
22. Lloyd-Evans N., et al. “Chemical disinfection of human rotavirus-contaminated inanimate surfaces”. Journal of Hygiene 97 (1986): 163-173.
23. Peditto M., et al. “Dentistry during the COVID-19 Epidemic: An Italian Workflow for the Management of Dental Practice”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health9 (2020): 3325.
24. Park GW., et al. “Evaluation of liquid- and fog-based application of sterilox hypochlorous acid solution for surface inactivation of human norovirus”. Applied and Environment Microbiology14 (2007): 4463-4468.
25. Kampf G., et al. “Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents”. Journal of Hospital Infection 3 (2020): 246-251.
26. Gallandat K., et al. “A systematic review of chlorine-based surface disinfection efficacy to inform recommendations for low-source outbreak settings”. American Journal of Infection Control (2020): S0196-6553 (20)30311-4.
27. Devker N., et al. “A study to evaluate and compare the efficacy of preprocedural mouth rinsing and high-volume evacuator attachment alone and in combination in reducing the amount of viable aerosols produced during ultrasonic scaling procedure”. Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice 5 (2012): 681-689.
28. Hallier C., et al. “A pilot study of bioaerosol reduction using an air cleaning system during dental procedures”. British Dental Journal8 (2010): 1-4.
29. Roig P. “Slow dentistry”. Quintessence International2 (2016): 87.
30. Shojania KG., et al. Making health care safer: a critical analysis of patient safety practices Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No 43 (Prepared by the University of California at San Francisco-Stanford Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No 290-97-0013) AHRQ Publication No. 01-E058 (2001).
31. Sammer CE., et al. “What is patient safety culture? A review of the literature”. Journal of Nursing Scholar 42 (2010): 156-165.
32. Li J., et al. “Anti-Caries Effect of Arginine-Containing Formulations in vivo: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. Caries Research6 (2015): 606-617.
33. Sleibi A., et al. “A Comparative Evaluation of Ion Release Characteristics of Three Different Dental Varnishes containing Fluoride either with CPP-ACP or Bioactive glass”. Dental Material12 (2019): 1695-1705.
34. Frencken JE., et al. “Twenty-five-year atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) approach: a comprehensive overview”. Clinical Oral Investigations5 (2012): 1337-1346.
35. de Amorim R G., et al. “Survival of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) sealants and restorations: a meta-analysis”. Clinical Oral Investigations 16 (2012): 429-441.
36. Lo E C., et al. “ART and conventional root restorations in elders after 12 months”. Journal of Dental Research 85 (2006): 929-932.
37. NHS England. NHS launches mental health hotline for staff tackling COVID-19 (2020).
38. Xiao H., et al. “The effects of social support on sleep quality of medical staff treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January and February 2020 in China”. Medical Science Monitor 26 (2020): e923549.
39. Rambaldini G., et al. “The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on medical house staff: a qualitative study”. Journal of General Internal Medicine 20 (2005): 381-385.
40. Maayan S., et al. “Distress among Dentists and Dental Hygienists in Israel”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (2020): 2900.

Citation

Citation: Sema S Hakki., et al. “Slow Dentistry in Post Coronavirus 19 Era: Clinical Practice, Education and Well-being". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 4.12 (2020): 68-77.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Sema S Hakki., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.