TITLE:
General Considerations for the Practice of Pediatric Dentistry in the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
AUTHORS:
Shayan Darvish, Bahareh Nazemi Salman
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, Child Dentistry, Dentistry, SARS-COV-2, Novel Coronavirus, Coronavirus
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.9 No.8,
August
5,
2021
ABSTRACT: Context: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) has been identified in December 2019. Since then, it has been spreading around the world and has caused a pandemic. Strict safety protocols should be followed to resume dental treatments. Evidence Acquisition: A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Medline and google scholar databases using the MeSH words of COVID-19, SARS-COV-2, Dentistry, and Child from December 2019 until July 2020. Results: Among COVID-19 patients, asymptomatic patients still are considered to be serious carriers of the COVID-19 which can play a key role in transmission of the virus. Children are reported to be less than 2 percent of the infected population and are considered as serious potential carriers. Telemedicine can take a key part in educating parents regarding this matter. Chronic and rare diseases such as Kawasaki Disease (KD) might show acute and more frequent symptoms amongst COVID-19 patients. Salivary testing can be a convenient chairside way for COVID-19 and it has been shown to be effective in identifying critically ill patients. Dry mouth and amblygeustia have been reported to be the oral symptoms of the COVID-19. Conclusions: Dentists must make tough decisions in prioritizing patient’s needs in the period of pandemic. They should frequently get updated as the situation is fluid and the protocols might change.