Emergency Management in a Dental Clinic During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Epidemic in Beijing

Abstract

BackgroundIn mid-March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was to be characterised as a pandemic. The purpose of this article is to recommend emergency management procedures for dental clinics during this public health emergency.Materials and MethodsWe have implemented a series of emergency management measures to prevent cross-infection in our dental clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic, including personnel scheduling, division of the clinic into functional areas, limitation or delay of non-emergency patients, staff protection and infection controls, clinical environmental disinfection, and the use of online consultation services, among others.ResultsDue to public health policy and dental emergency management, the number of dental visitors to our clinic dropped sharply, and no COVID-19 suspected cases or high-risk patients received treatment. There have been no reports of infection of dental staff or patients during dental treatment in China to date.ConclusionThese public health policies and dental emergency management measures were effective in controlling cross-infection of COVID-19 in the dental clinic.Practical ImplicationsWe share control measures for COVID-19, and hope that they will be helpful for dental professionals worldwide to continue to provide dental care in a safe and orderly manner.