Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak started just a couple of months ago and it grew rapidly causing several deaths and morbidities. The mechanism behind the transmission of the virus is still not completely understood despite a multitude of new specific manuscripts being published daily. This article highlights the oral cavity as a possible viral transmission route into the body via the Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor. It also provides guidelines for routine protective measures in the dental office while delivering oral health care.
Highlights
The recent ongoing outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 was officially declared a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020 by the World Health Organization [1]
SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated in saliva and recent studies highlight how contamination of the oral environment could occur via fecal-oral transmission for an extended period of time [14,15,16,17]
According to Hamming et al [22], ACE2 expression was observed in the basal layer of the non-keratinizing squamous epithelium mucosa of the nasal, oral cavity, and nasopharynx, whereas they did not observe its expression on the surface of epithelium
Summary
The recent ongoing outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 was officially declared a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020 by the World Health Organization [1]. The estimated basic reproduction number (R0) of COVID-19 is around 2.2. It means that on average, each patient spreads infection to 2.2 people [4]. Understanding specific function and location of virus-host interactions are extremely important to prevent further transmission, to protect health care workers (HCW) and to outline the safety guidelines going forward [5]. The norms and operating procedures for HCW who tend to work in close contact with general public—such as dentists, doctors, nurses and other health personnel—will be of extreme importance for the safety of the community because no specific drugs or vaccines are yet available for COVID-19 with sufficient supporting evidence of their efficacy and safety [5]. Diagnosis and management are still crucial for containing the outbreak
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