Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: Roles and responsibilities of dental health-care providers

Abstract

With the recent spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), human race is observing tough times. COVID-19 is a potentially severe respiratory disease which was first observed in Wuhan, China. Now, this disease is widely spreading in other countries around the world including India. It is claimed to be a zoonosis, which has found its way to humans through bats and pangolins. Despite the global efforts to curb the disease spread, the outbreak remains rising, causing serious widespread public health concerns. This virus features a tendency to be abundantly present within the nasopharyngeal and salivary secretions of the patients suffering from this disease. Therefore, dental health-care professionals, including periodontists and endodontists, are at a higher risk of contracting this disease due to aerosol spread during the procedures. Thus, the aim of this article is to provide a brief overview about the epidemiology, symptoms, and routes of transmission alongside specific recommendations for clinical practice which may help a dental health-care provider for efficiently managing a patient affected by this disease. This review was last updated on February 18, 2021.