Teledentistry and COVID-19 molecular surveillance strategy for a safe clinical environment in Paediatric Dentistry

Abstract

The aim of this manuscript is to describe a hybrid care model to paediatric patients on a virtual basis for dental treatment before conducting an in-person surveillance by using combined nasal/oral swabbing (NOS). This longitudinal study used a convenience sample of paediatric patients and members of the dental team from an undergraduate paediatric dentistry clinic at the University of São Paulo School of Dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, parents were contacted and teledentistry was used for screening children who need dental treatment. Appointments were scheduled once a week for two months, in which a pre-COVID-19 screening was performed. Dental team and children’s parents completed a questionnaire addressing COVID-19-related symptoms. Members of the dental team and children were tested for COVID-19 before entering the dental clinic, by NOS and RT-PCR screening. Ninety-three individuals were enrolled and all of them completed the electronic questionnaire on symptoms and had NOS collected weekly, totalising 241 pairs of swabs. No participant reported COVID-19 symptoms before entering the clinic for treatment. Only one child tested positive in the third week of sampling. The hybrid care model associated with molecular testing for asymptomatics provided a safe clinical environment regarding the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.