Actions taken by dental care providers in relation to COVID-19
Keywords:
coronavirus infections, severe acute respiratory syndrome, pandemics, transmission, transmission of infectious diseases from patients to health care professionals, dental care providers, hand hygiene, personal protection equipment, protection, health careAbstract
Introduction: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a worldwide public health emergency. Dentists are the health care providers most directly exposed to this condition, since their area of activity is the mouth, a location recognized as the site through which the disease is transmitted.
Objective: Clarify some notions about COVID-19 and the measures to be taken to prevent transmission to dental care providers.
Main remarks: A single method has not been discovered which meets all the requirements concerning infections associated to medical care. In the struggle against COVID-19 an important role is played by standard precautions, i.e. measures applied to all patients, irrespective of their diagnosis or whether they are known to have an infection or be colonized by a given agent. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus, a characteristic that makes it more sensitive to the action of disinfectants.
General considerations: COVID-19 presents non-specific symptoms, the most common of which are fever, anorexia and dry coughing. Transmission probably occurs by the spread of the virus in the air and by direct contact. Implementation of standard precautions, among which are hand hygiene, the use of personal protection equipment and care for the environment, will lead to a reduction in the chances of contagion and will contribute to control the spread of the disease. It is important for medical care providers, among them dental care professionals, and the public at large to know about this new virus, so that coordinated, timely and effective actions may be taken which will help prevent the occurrence of new cases or bad results in the struggle against this pandemic.
Downloads
References
PAHO/WHO. Requerimientos para uso de equipos de protección personal (EPP) para el nuevo coronavirus (2019-nCoV) en establecimientos de salud. [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: PAHO/WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.paho.org/es/file/59299/download?token=WMOZG2vK
Bajema KL, Oster AM, McGovern OL, Lindstrom S, Stenger MR, Anderson TC, et al. Persons Evaluated for 2019 Novel Coronavirus — United States, January 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020];69(6):166-70. Disponible en: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7017962/
PAHO/WHO. Directrices provisionales de bioseguridad de laboratorio para el manejo y transporte de muestras asociadas al nuevo coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV). [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: PAHO/WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.paho.org/es/file/58508/download?token=fc5J8kWB
UNICEF/WHO. Mensajes y acciones importantes para la prevención y el control del COVID-19 en las escuelas. [Internet]. New York: UNICEF/WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.unicef.org/media/65851/file/Key%20Messages%20and%20Actions%20for%20COVID-19%20Prevention%20and%20Control%20in%20Schools_Spanish.pdf
Chang L, Yan Y, Wang L. Coronavirus Disease 2019: Coronaviruses and Blood Safety. Transfusion Medicine Reviews [Internet] 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887796320300146?via%3Dihub
Jin YH, Cai L, Cheng ZS, Cheng H, Deng T, Fan YP, et al. A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version). Mil Med Res [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020;7:4. Disponible en: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003341/
She J, Jiang J, Ye L, Hu L, Bai C, Song Y. 2019 novel coronavirus of pneumonia in Wuhan, China: emerging attack and management strategies. Clin Transl Med [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020];9:19. Disponible en: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7033263/
Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, et al. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761044
Kruse RL. Therapeutic strategies in an outbreak scenario to treat the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China. F1000Res [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020];9:72. Disponible en: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7029759/
Pan American Health Organization. Prevention and control of healthcare–associated infections. Basic Recommendations. [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: PAHO; 2018 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjli9O9qJroAhUsUt8KHWF5BZgQFjACegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paho.org%2Fen%2Ffile%2F49441%2Fdownload%3Ftoken%3D9cZBqsbr&usg=AOvVaw0nE42A29BOvi3N6MEFYLBn
WHO. Consejos sobre la utilización de mascarillas en el entorno comunitario, en la atención domiciliaria y en centros de salud en el contexto del brote de nuevo coronavirus (2019-nCoV). [Internet]. Ginebra: OMS; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/330999/WHO-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.1-spa.pdf
Infomed. Mascarillas o nasobucos: cómo y para qué. [Internet]. La Habana: Izquierdo Pamias T; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://temas.sld.cu/coronavirus/2020/03/13/mascarillas-o-nasobucos-como-y-para-que/
WHO. Infection prevention and control during health care when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected Interim guidance. [Internet]. Ginebra: WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1266296/retrieve
WHO. Prepare su lugar de trabajo para la COVID-19. [Internet]. Ginebra: WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.paho.org/es/file/60722/download?token=yLyZm_D_
Fariñas Acosta L. Si tienes síntomas gripales, acude al médico, no vayas al trabajo o a la escuela. CUBADEBATE [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 15/03/2020]. Disponible en: http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2020/03/14/si-tienes-sintomas-gripales-acude-al-medico-no-vayas-al-trabajo-o-a-la-escuela/#.Xm5J5ErB_cs
PAHO/WHO. Prevención y control de infecciones y nuevo coronavirus (COVID-19): precauciones estándares y uso de equipos de protección personal. [Internet]. Washington, D.C.: PAHO/WHO; 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://www.paho.org/es/file/59395/download?token=_Z8Nptw_
Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, Dulebohn SC, Di Napoli R. Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus (COVID-19). In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 [acceso 08/03/2020]. Disponible en:: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554776/
Infomed. Disponible aplicación desarrollada por Infomed sobre COVID-19. [Internet]. La Habana: Ortega Betancourt Y; 2020 [acceso 15/03/2020]. Disponible en: http://infomed.sld.cu/noticia/2020/02/27/disponible-aplicacion-desarrollada-por-infomed-sobre-el-covid-19
Serra Valdés MA. Infección respiratoria aguda por COVID-19: una amenaza evidente. Rev haban cienc méd [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020];19(1):1-5. Disponible en: http://www.revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/3171
Labrador Herrera LM, Nusa Peñalver JD, Leidys Ramos G, Antón Rodríguez S, García Elizalde A. Esta batalla se gana entre todos. Periódico Granma [Internet]. 2020 [acceso 15/03/2020]. Disponible en: http://www.granma.cu/cuba-covid-19/2020-03-09/en-vivo-cuba-informa-medidas-para-enfrentar-la-amenaza-del-nuevo-coronavirus-covid-19-09-03-2020-17-03-10
Larivière V, Shu F, Sugimoto C. El brote de coronavirus (COVID-19) resalta serias deficiencias en la comunicación científica [Publicado originalmente en el LSE Impact Blog en marzo/2020] [Internet]. SciELO en Perspectiva, 2020 [acceso 13/03/2020]. Disponible en: https://blog.scielo.org/es/2020/03/12/el-brote-de-coronavirus-covid-19-resalta-serias-deficiencias-en-la-comunicacion-cientifica/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain all rights to their works, which they can reproduce and distribute as long as they cite the primary source of publication.
The Rev Cubana Estomatol is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) and follows the publication model of SciELO Publishing Schema (SciELO PS) for publication in XML format.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
- You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
- No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Download PDF
