- Pre-procedural mouth rinse is an effective method to reduce the viral loads in oral fluid.
- Oxidative agents such as hydrogen peroxide are more effective than chlorhexidine.
- Dentists should minimize AGPs (Aerosol Generating Procedures). If AGPs must be performed, additional precautions should be taken:
- Rubber dam isolation
- 4-handed technique with the use of low and high-volume saliva ejectors
- In irreversible pulpitis, clinician should consider using chemo-chemical caries removal or atraumatic restorative techniques instead of rotary instruments during cavity preparation and pulp exposure in selective cases.
These statements are based on several review articles recently published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the International Journal of Oral Science and the Journal of Dental Research. The recommendations proposed by these guidelines are primarily based on the previous experiences from SARS and the previous studies in infection control of dental setting.
Sources:
- Zi-yu GE, Lu-ming YANG, Jia-jia XIA, Xiao-hui FU, Yan-zhen ZHANG. (February 26, 2020). Possible aerosol transmission of COVID-19 and special precautions in dentistry. Journal of Zhejiang University.
https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B2010010 - Gianrico Spagnuolo, Danila De Vito, Sasndro Rengo, and Marco Tatullo. (March 18, 2020). COVID-19 Outbreak: An Overview on Dentistry, Yokohama, Japan, 2020. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062094 - Xian Peng, Xin Xu, Yuqing Li, Lei Cheng, Xuedong Zhou and Biao Ren. (March 3, 2020). Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice. International Journal of Oral Science.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41368-020-0075-9 - L. Meng, F. Hua , and Z. Bian. (March 3, 2020). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Emerging and Future Challenges for Dental and Oral Medicine. Journal of Dental Research
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