Comparative Study of Recommendations for Dental Care Delivery in Iran with a Rapid Review of Cochrane during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the high transmissibility of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through oral aerosols, guidelines were provided to prevent the spread of this disease through dental services. The Cochrane Institute published an article on May 13, 2020, reviewing recommendations for reopening dental centers and ways of providing dental services in 11 different countries. In this study, the recommendations published in Iran were compared with the rapid review prepared by the Cochrane Institute.

The authors compared the recommendations for dental services published by Iran's Ministry of Health from the beginning of the pandemic outbreak with the rapid review prepared by the Cochrane Institute. Differences and similarities were extracted and tabulated in tables. In case of disagreement between researchers, the final opinion was adopted in consultation with the professors of community oral health. Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched to ensure valid scientific evidence for the methodological suggestions.

The study of the differences between the recommendation for providing dental services in Iran and the Cochrane review article divided the evidence into five categories. In this study, two other groups, in addition to the Cochrane classification, were extracted from the proposed guidelines of Iran. Differences between recommendations were noted for modification employed in future versions.

It is suggested that some of the statements of the Iranian recommendations be reviewed to minimize the possibility of the spread of COVID-19 disease among the staff of dental centers.

Due to the complete non-compliance of the recommendations, the integrity in observing the protective points would be possible by correcting the discrepancies.