COVID-19 in Dental Settings: Novel Risk Assessment Approach

Ali Alsaegh, Elena Belova, Yuriy Vasil’ev, Nadezhda Zabroda, Lyudmila Severova, Margarita Timofeeva, Denis Dobrokhotov, Alevtina Leonova and Oleg Mitrokhin
Additional contact information
Ali Alsaegh: Institute of Dentistry Named after E.V. Borovsky, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Elena Belova: Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Yuriy Vasil’ev: Department of Operative Surgery and Topographic Anatomy, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Nadezhda Zabroda: Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Lyudmila Severova: Department of Phthisiopulmonology and Thoracic Surgery named after M.I. Perelman, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Margarita Timofeeva: Department of Medical Law, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Denis Dobrokhotov: Department of Chemistry, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Alevtina Leonova: Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Oleg Mitrokhin: Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya St. bldg. 8\2, 119435 Moscow, Russia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern, and this emergency led to postponing elective dental care procedures. The postponing aimed to protect the public from an unknown risk caused by COVID-19. At the beginning of the outbreak, for public health authorities, the aerosol-generating procedures and the close proximity between dental care workers and patients in dentistry represented sufficient justification for the delay of dental visits. Dental care is a priority, and for many years, studies have proven that the lack and delay of dental care can cause severe consequences for the oral health of the general population, which can cause a high global burden of oral diseases. Safety is necessary while resuming dental activities, and risk assessment is an efficient method for understanding and preventing the COVID-19 infectious threats facing the dental industry and affecting dental care workers and patients. In this study, for safe dental care delivery, we adapted risk assessment criteria and an approach and an occupational classification system. Based on those tools, we also recommend measures that can help to minimize infectious risk in dental settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; risk assessment; dental care; oral health; dentistry; infection control; occupational safety; public health; hygiene (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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