Dr Anjana Ravindran
Associate Editor, IPS Kerala
Combating COVID-19 Pandemic: Professionally and Personally
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11,
2020, has declared the novel corona virus (COVID-19)
outbreak a global pandemic. Despite the best efforts
by the health care system and government the
pandemic is still rampant owing to community spread.
In the current COVID-19 pandemic, dentists, auxiliaries
as well as patients undergoing dental procedures are
at high risk of cross-infection. The current situation
warrants us to strike a balance between personal
safety and optimum treatment to patients who require
emergency dental care. Patient welfare and emergency
needs should be given due consideration amidst
the pandemic. According to reports, dentists fall into
the high-risk category due to close contact with the
patient’s oral cavity, saliva, blood, and respiratory
tract secretions. Saliva is rich in COVID-19 viral load.
Many asymptomatic patients may be carriers. It is
suggested that all patients visiting a dental office
must be treated with due precautions. It is essential
that in the present scenario, priority is given to dental
procedures labelled as emergencies by the WHO and
that all non-emergency dental treatments are deferred.
Standardised norms for infection control should be
adhered to. All operatory and non-operatory personnel
should be equipped with appropriate PPE as per the
guidelines. Teledentistry is an effective way to triage
patients and conduct problem-focused evaluations
to limit office visits. Aerosol generating procedures
should be deferred or limited to a minimum.
Disposable handpieces can be used or they must be
equipped with anti-reflux devices to avoid the risk of
cross infections. Adopting digital dental practice can
help in decreasing cross-contamination especially digital impression and scanners. The online platforms
have helped to minimize the interruption in dental
education for the students. The umpteen webinars on
an array of topics had helped to engage the dental
fraternity amidst the pandemic.
The economic impact due to this pandemic need
not be overemphasized. Mitigation and suppression
policies have hit the economy hard. Apart from the
occupational burnout, the psychosocial stress caused
by this pandemic should not take a toll on our mental
health. Many among us have been toiling shoulder
to shoulder with our medical counterparts in swab
collection duties, ward duties, and first-line COVID
treatment centers.
The compressed timeline, geopolitical issues, urgency
to contain the pandemic may increase the risks and
failure rate of delivering a safe, effective vaccine. Until
a safe vaccine is introduced into the market we have to
limit our practice to emergency treatments.
“Lessons learned” is a trite phrase. This pandemic
has already sounded a warning bell, that despite
the best of the world’s scientific and technological
advancements, we were unarmed to handle a
pandemic. We have to anticipate new viruses and
unexpected mutations in the coming years. We need
to get out of this farrago of indefinite uncertainty, equip
ourselves, and embrace the NEW NORMAL.