When the World Health Organization in early August advised people to stop routine dental work during the pandemic, oral surgeon Pittsburgh, Dr. Eric Smiga, alive.
‘I was honestly shocked. “I thought it was a sad WHO remark without a scientific basis,” said Smiga. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seems to be comfortable with everything. The American Dental Association seems to be comfortable with everything, and from left field. the WHO makes a statement that makes zero sense. “
By Tuesday afternoon, WHO had cleared its position. WHO chief dental officer Benoit Varonne sent an e-mail with what appeared to be a refinement of language, plus a spade at the media.
“In our guidance, WHO recommends that routine non-emergency services be delayed until there has been a significant reduction in covid-19 transmission rates, or according to official recommendations at national, sub-national or local level,” Varonne said. “Unfortunately, a number of media headlines, intentional or not, did not mention that the recommendation to delay routine oral health care is only suggested in an intensive, uncontrolled transmission scenario, a scenario that does not fit the current situation of most countries around the world. . “
Although dentists in the U.S. are not bound by WHO recommendations, the clarification seems to satisfy dentists in the Pittsburgh area, perhaps prompting their patients to take the advice of hearts and opt for a checkup.
“I asked a few patients about it,” Smiga said. “The problem is that you never know the patients who do not come in because of such statements. The concern is about the patients who do not come out of their house, who refuse to go to the dentist. ”
It’s all part of what has been a difficult year for Pennsylvania dentists, whose offices were effectively closed by the state in March last year when sweeping covid-19 restrictions began in earnest. Dental offices reopened in May for all procedures after new guidance was issued by Secretary of State Rachel Levine.
“The WHO advisory service would have been more applicable to our region if it had been released five months ago, when many dental offices were already closed at the request of the mayor,” said Pittsburgh dentist Marty Supowitz.
“At its reopening here and nationwide, most dental offices have set up multiple systems to ensure the safety of suppliers and patients. The results are reassuring to the best of my knowledge, no covid-19 case has been recovered to a dental office. ”
Jim Tauberg, president of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, also strongly objected to the initial WHO recommendations. He said members of his organization have been proving since early in the pandemic that dentists can be done safely.
“We change all of our personal protective equipment (and procedures) to be literal as in the hospital environment because we make the assumption that all patients have covid,” Tauberg said. “In my humble opinion, we’re actually one of the safest places to be at the moment.”
Andrew Matta, co-founder and chief medical officer of the North American Dental Group, said if society has learned anything during the pandemic, then it is that dentistry is essential.
“Oral health is linked to systemic health. We do not want to see hospitals overcrowded with oral health or tank emergencies. We can facilitate those in our practice and patients should feel incredibly safe going to the dentist because dentists are incorporating all these improved measures, ”said Matta.
“Is PPE something we will use in the long run? That is determined. ”
Paul Guggenheimer is a Tribune Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-226-7706 or [email protected].
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