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According to the WHO, oral health care providers work close to patients’ faces for extended periods of time, increasing their risk of COVID-19
According to the WHO, oral health care providers work close to the faces of patients for extended periods of time, which increases their risk for COVID-19
Photo: Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
According to the WHO, oral health care providers work close to patients’ faces for extended periods of time, increasing their risk of COVID-19
According to the WHO, oral health care providers work close to patients’ faces for extended periods of time, increasing their risk of COVID-19
Photo: Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
The World Health Organization cites a high risk of transmission among patients and providers, and recently updated its guidance on oral health care and advises that non-essential, routine dental appointments be delayed until there is a “sufficient reduction” of the COVID-19. transfer figures.
Oral health care providers work close to the faces of patients for extended periods of time, which increases their risk of contracting COVID-19, per the WHO.
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“Their procedures include face-to-face communication and frequent exposure to saliva, blood, and other body fluids and the handling of sharp instruments,” the WHO states in its guidance. “Hence, they are at high risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 or passing the infection on to patients.”
The new guidance to delay appointments applies to routine dental care, including check-ups, dental hygiene and preventive care, as well as aesthetic dental treatments. However, the WHO recommends that urgent and necessary dental care that is “essential for maintaining a person’s oral functioning, managing severe pain or ensuring liveability” should not be delayed and should be provided despite the ongoing pandemic.
Urgent care includes dental work necessary to address include acute oral infections; swelling; systemic infection; significant or prolonged bleeding; and dental / orofacial trauma.
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Strict measures for infection & control must be in place #OralHealth care settings
-physical distance
-Use of personal protective equipment, such as eye protection, disposable dress, medical mask / respirator
-hand hygiene
mastery of cleaning and disinfection procedures pic.twitter.com/MSzUakQMy4– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) 11 August 2020
The guidance also recommends a comprehensive list of protocols for oral health care providers to follow, including increasing ventilation and preventing recirculation devices; screening patients for an appointment; obliges staff to wear personal protective equipment and encourage patients to wear face masks.
Texas recently saw its largest COVID-19 case in nearly a week and the highest positive test percentage to date. As of Tuesday night, Texas’ positive test rate reached a record high of 23.97 percent, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. The number of new cases of coronavirus is now a total of 516,686 cases.
