A Review on Recent Guidelines and Articles about Prevention of Covid-19 Infection in Dental Settings

Dental services are high-risk centers to spread the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the type of treatment and closeness of the staff to patients. For this reason, several guidelines have been developed by international organizations regarding the necessity for complying with health standards in these centers. The present study aimed to review the guidelines and studies conducted on the prevention and control of COVID-19 in dental settings.

The current study was carried out to investigate COVID-19 prevention and control strategies in dental settings. Several databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus, since 2019 to 2020 in addition to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Health Service, and American Dental Association were reviewed through subject searching and used in the present study.

Studies have shown that the staff of dental centers similar to other health care workers is at high risk of getting COVID-19. The majority of published guidelines have emphasized the elimination of nonemergency measures and provision of remote counseling services to patients. In case of the need for an emergency visit, it is necessary to implement preventive measures, especially hand hygiene and protection measures, to prevent the spread of the virus through aerosol transmission.

Due to the increasing prevalence of COVID-19, it is necessary to provide all dental staff with the essential information and training on prevention and control strategies based on scientific guidelines and standards. This issue can play an important role in reducing the number of patients and preventing the spread of the virus in the community.