The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken a strong stance on oral health, urging people to make routine visits to the dentist when COVID-19 is heavily circulating in their area.
In interim guidance published on 3 August, the WHO specifically recommends that “routine non-essential oral health care – which usually includes oral health checks, tooth cleaning and preventive care – be postponed until there has been a sufficient reduction in COVID-19 transmission rates. from communities to cluster subjects or according to official recommendations at the national, sub-national or local level. “This recommendation also applies to” aesthetic dentistry “, says the guide. However, the organization adds, visit emergency visits as emergency services” that are essential for conservation of a person’s oral functioning, management of severe pain, or ensuring liveability must be provided. “
The WHO specifically states in its guidance that it is concerned about aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs), which are ‘widely implemented’ in dental work. “The risk of COVID-19 transmission by air when AGPs are carried out … cannot be ruled out,” the WHO said.
Benoit Varenne, a WHO dentist, echoed that sentiment in a news release on Tuesday, according to the New York Times. “The chance that COVID-19 will be transmitted via aerosol, microparticles or air particles … today I think that is unknown, at least it is open to question. This means that more research is needed, ”he said.
The American Dental Association (ADA) has had a mixed attitude on this subject. While the ADA recommended in mid-March that dentists suspend their practices for “anything but urgent and emergency,” that recommendation expired on April 30 and was not extended for a period. “Oral health is an integral part of overall health,” the ADA said online in May. “Treating dozens of diseases, such as prevention, is important to keep people healthy.”
But the ADA published new guidelines in June urging dentists to “treat patients only,” noting that “some states or local governments have this mandate.” The ADA also expressed concern that COVID-19 “could be spread through aerosols produced by hand at high and low speeds, ultrasonic scalers, air / water sprays, or an infected patient who is coughing, and even taking intra-oral radiographs . “
August guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that physicians focus on patients who need the most urgent care. “Prioritize the most critical dental services and provide care in a way that minimizes harm to patients from delays in care and harm to staff and patients from potential exposure,” to COVID-19, the agency advises dentists.
Dr Amesh Adalja, senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety and an ER doctor, tells Yahoo Life that he is concerned about the recent recommendations on routine dental care. “Lack of dental care has other consequences for the health care system,” he says. When people delay routine dental care, they are more likely to develop serious dental problems – and then they wind up in the emergency room, Adalja says. “That’s what happens when you close dental care,” he says. “They come to the emergency department, where doctors are not well equipped to treat this kind of thing.” That could potentially open up a patient to people who could be infected with COVID-19 and also be in the waiting room, he says, noting that it could also be an outlet on hospital resources needed to be treated with COVID-19 patients. “Dental care should not be disrupted,” says Adalja.
But infectious disease expert John Sellick Jr., a professor of medicine at the University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, acknowledges the concerns that there are still many unfamiliar with security at the dentist’s office. “Dentists work right at the top of the airways, and that can be risky,” he tells Yahoo Life. “Dentists need to take extra precautions in terms of self-protection and the protection of everyone else because of the aerosols that can be generated.”
Experts say, however, that it is likely that a trip to the dentist’s office could be safe for anyone involved as offices advance patients’ screens, visits are divided to prevent crowded waiting rooms and staff from wearing face shields and masks while working on patients . “Routine dental visits can probably be done fairly safely if the right precautionary measures are taken,” Sellick says.
Dr. Mark Wolff, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, tells Yahoo Life that many are dependent on local transmission rates. ‘If I’m a healthy person and need to clean my teeth, should I slow it down? Probably not in the Northeast Polder. We are doing pretty well, ”he says. ‘But would I go to Texas, where cases are high? Maybe not. “
But dentists have always “taken universal precautionary measures, which are a set of guidelines that practitioners follow to prevent contact with patients’ bodily fluids and to prevent the transmission of pathogens,” Julie Cho, a dentist in New York City, told Yahoo Life. “Now, however, we are smoother than we have ever been,” she says. “In addition to wearing masks, eye shields and gloves, which we used to do, we now wear face shields, surgical caps and extra personal protective equipment. Furthermore, we have air pollutants and UV lights in every operation, and our staff takes temperatures of all patients entering through our door and examines for symptoms. Since we are still on hyperalert, this is a good time to go to the dentist. ”
Wolff urges people to seek regular care from a dentist if they are in areas with low COVID-19 transmission or if they are in pain. He acknowledges, however, that dentists are also afraid of the pandemic. “Of course we are nervous,” he says. “We never want to put our patients or staff at risk.”
All of this, of course, raises questions about safety with other doctor-doctor visits, such as ob-gyn checkups, your annual visit with your family doctor, and regular eye appointments.
There are a few factors to consider, says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. He recommends calling your doctor’s office in advance to see what precautions they take to keep patients safe. “You want to make sure everyone is masked, that there will be social distance and that everyone is very careful,” he says. ‘If you discover that your local supplier and everyone else in the office will not be wearing masks, you may want to ask about telemedicine. That’s not an office I’m going to visit at the moment. ”
It is also a good idea to keep an eye on local transmission rates, says Schaffner. “We should be careful in the US, but some parts of the country, such as New England, have so far been very successful in controlling this virus,” he says. But, Schaffner adds, even if local business counts in your area are low, the virus can still circulate. “It is important to wear masks and follow the proper precautions when seeing your doctor, regardless of local transmission,” he says.
If cases in your area start to grow, Sellick says it’s OK to push back your routine appointment a bit. “What is the magic number of cases? Nobody really knows that, ”he says. “There is no preset number.”
Adalja, however, demands caution by pushing routine visits for too long. “People are very focused on the short term, and they do not realize that there are many potential consequences of skipping routine visits,” he says. Therefore, he appeals to people who are nervous about getting routine care to talk to their doctor. “We need to get to a point where normal health care delivery can continue uninterrupted during this pandemic,” Adalja said.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow together to https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised remain the most at risk. If you have any questions, please refer to the GGD‘s and WHO’s resource guides.
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