Abstract
Prevention and control of infection in dentistry is an essential matter that has gained immense attention in recent years. There exist a lack of scientific data about the cross-transmission and its associated risk, especially in the dental health care setting of Pakistan. This article will evaluate the emerging challenges and threats for the dental community in Pakistan attributable to the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a significant knowledge gap regarding the state- and institutional-level of infection prevention and control (IPC) policies and practices. In addition, not much is known about the development, implementation, and monitoring of IPC policies and its challenges.
Highlights
More than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported (Source: World Health Organization Situation Report No 107)
Due to the unique nature of dental procedures, which generates large number of aerosols and droplets, the usual standardized protective measures followed by the dental care workers will not suffice for preventing the spread of COVID-19, especially when the patient is symptom-free, unaware about the disease status, or falsifying infection history
There exists a significant gap in the development and implementation of infection control and patient safety policies at dental health care facilities
Summary
More than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported (Source: World Health Organization Situation Report No 107). The global burden of oral health disease is 2-fold both for developed and developing nations.[2] It is of huge concern that dental care services are not readily accessible to most of the population due to the expensive nature of treatment modalities. Due to the unique nature of dental procedures, which generates large number of aerosols and droplets, the usual standardized protective measures followed by the dental care workers will not suffice for preventing the spread of COVID-19, especially when the patient is symptom-free, unaware about the disease status, or falsifying infection history. The containment of the propagation of the virus would be nearly impossible.[4]
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