The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended delaying routine dental care in certain situations because of the risk of COVID-19 exposure, guidance the ADA “respectfully yet strongly disagrees with.”
“Oral health is integral to overall health. Dentistry is essential health care,” ADA President Dr. Chad P. Gehani said, according to a statement responding to the recommendation. “Dentistry is essential health care because of its role in evaluating, diagnosing, preventing or treating oral diseases, which can affect systemic health.”
In March, the ADA called for dentists to postpone all elective procedures and to only provide emergency care “to understand the disease, consider its effect on dental patients, dental professionals and the greater community.”
Both the ADA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have provided interim guidance for dental professionals related to COVID-19. The ADA’s guidance calls for wearing masks, goggles and face shields as well as using rubber dams and high velocity suction when possible. The guidance also recommends hand scaling instead of using an ultrasonic scaler to minimize aerosols.
“Millions of patients have safely visited their dentists in the past few months for the full range of dental services,” Gehani said, according to the statement. “With appropriate PPE, dental care should continue to be delivered during global pandemics or other disaster situations.”
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