Oral and maxillofacial dental care professionals in critical care during the COVID-19 pandemic

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic there was a ‘call to arms’ across the oral and maxillofacial staff. This article reports on the extended role of the department's dental care professionals (DCPs) and the tremendous opportunity and value that temporary redeployment presented.     

Impact of COVID-19 epidemic on maxillofacial surgery in Italy

Maxillofacial departments in 23 surgical units in Italy have been increasingly involved in facing the COVID-19 emergency. Elective surgeries have been progressively postponed to free up beds and offer human and material resources to those infected. We compiled an inventory of 32 questions to evaluate the impact of the SARS-COV2 epidemic on maxillofacial surgery in 23 selected Italian maxillofacial departments. The questionnaire focused on three different aspects: the variation of the workload, showing both a reduction of the number of team members (-16% among specialists, -11% among residents) due to reallocation or contamination and a consistent reduction of elective activities (the number of outpatient visits cancelled during the first month of the COVID-19 epidemic was about 10 000 all over Italy), while only tumour surgery and trauma surgery has been widely guaranteed; the screening procedures on patients and physicians (22% of maxillofacial units found infected surgeons, which is 4% of all maxillofacial surgeons); and the availability of Personal Protective Equipment, is only considered to be partial in 48% of Maxillofacial departments.This emergency has forced those of us in the Italian health system to change the way we work, but only time will prove if these changes have been effective.     

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情期间对急性牙痛临床诊疗工作的防控建议

当前新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19,简称新冠肺炎）疫情防控形势严峻,口腔诊疗由于其专业特殊性,受到了业界和卫生行政主管部门的关注。那么在疫情防控期间,作为最常见的口腔急症（急性牙痛）应该如何处理？本文结合国家卫生健康委员会颁发的相关规范标准和广东省、广州市卫生健康委员会颁发的口腔门、急诊诊疗工作文件,对疫情期间急性牙痛的处理拟定若干防控建议,以期为临床诊疗提供参考和指引。     

Use of mouthwashes against COVID-19 in dentistry

The proximity to the patient during dental care, high generation of aerosols, and the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva have suggested the oral cavity as a potential reservoir for COVID-19 transmission. Mouthwashes are widely-used solutions due to their ability to reduce the number of microorganisms in the oral cavity. Although there is still no clinical evidence that they can prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, preoperative antimicrobial mouth rinses with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), povidone-iodine (PVP-I), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) have been recommended to reduce the number of microorganisms in aerosols and drops during oral procedures. This paper therefore aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current recommendations on the use of mouthwashes against the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of most conventional antiseptic mouthwashes used in dentistry.     

口腔急诊医务工作者应对新型冠状病毒感染的防控管理规范

2019冠状病毒病(corona virus disease 2019,COVID-19)疫情期间,口腔医务人员因其诊疗操作的特殊性存在较大交叉感染的风险。目前多数地区的医院仅保留口腔急诊通道。本文依托本单位急性创伤急救中心,结合临床急救经验,从新型冠状病毒的流行病学特点、口腔科急诊诊疗感染的特点、医务人员的个人防护及诊室环境的防控管理等多个方面提出口腔急诊医务工作者的应急管理和防控规范,供口腔急诊医务人员参考。     

Management of odontogenic cervicofacial infections presenting to oral and maxillofacial units during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

On 25 March 2020, the Chief Dental Officer issued national guidance restricting the provision of all routine, non-urgent dental services in response to the spread of COVID-19. We analysed odontogenic cervicofacial infections (CFI) presenting to oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) departments during the first wave of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.From 1 April 2020 until 31 July 2020 a database was used to prospectively collect records for all patients with CFI who presented to oral and maxillofacial teams. Information gathered included clinical presentation, location/origin of infection, and how this was managed. The OMFS units were asked to compare the patient’s care with the treatment that would usually have been given prior to the crisis. A total of 32 OMFS units recorded 1381 cases of CFI in the UK. Most of the infections were referred via the emergency department (74%). Lower first or second molars were the most common origin, contributing 40% of CFI. Collaborators reported that patients' treatments were modified as a response to COVID in 20% of cases, the most frequently cited reason being the application of COVID-19 hospital policy (85%). The impact of the first wave of COVID modified the management of a significant number of patients presenting with CFI, and there was a proactive move to avoid general anaesthetics where possible. Some patients who presented to secondary care were given no treatment, suggesting they could have been managed in primary dental care if this had been available. We recommend that OMFS units and urgent dental care centres (UDCCs) build strong communication links not only to provide the best possible patient care, but to minimise COVID exposure and the strain on emergency departments during the pandemic.     

Impact of COVID-19 on maxillofacial surgery practice: a worldwide survey

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly changing our habits. To date, April 12, 2020, the virus has reached 209 nations, affecting 1.8 million people and causing more than 110,000 deaths. Maxillofacial surgery represents an example of a specialty that has had to adapt to this outbreak, because of the subspecialties of oncology and traumatology. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this outbreak on the specialty of maxillofacial surgery and how the current situation is being managed on a worldwide scale. To achieve this goal, the authors developed an anonymous questionnaire which was posted on the internet and also sent to maxillofacial surgeons around the globe using membership lists from various subspecialty associations. The questionnaire asked for information about the COVID-19 situation in the respondent’s country and in their workplace, and what changes they were facing in their practices in light of the outbreak. The objective was not only to collect and analyse data, but also to highlight what the specialty is facing and how it is handling the situation, in the hope that this information will be useful as a reference in the future, not only for this specialty, but also for others, should COVID-19 or a similar global threat arise again.     

江西省口腔医学生新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情关注度及知识知晓横断面调查

目的：了解新型冠状病毒肺炎（新冠肺炎）疫情期间江西省口腔医学生疫情关注度及相关知识知晓水平,为日后优化口腔医学专业化人才培养方案提供数据支持。方法：采取网络问卷直填法,对江西省内设有独立口腔医学专业的院校发放问卷,共收集有效问卷2 065份。采用SPSS 20.0软件包进行统计分析,采用χ²检验和二元Logistic回归进行单因素和多因素分析。结果：调查显示,74.72%口腔医学生表示比较关注疫情,75.93%的表示每天查看全国确诊病例数1次及以上。高学历、有执业医师证、家庭状况较好的人群更关注疫情,查看信息频繁（P<0.05）。全部调查对象最关注的信息类别为全国各省份确诊新增例数、治愈例数等数据,其次为新冠肺炎患者的诊疗方案。疫情相关知识知晓平均分为5.60±1.88。影响因素分析显示,女性知识知晓水平高于男性（OR=1.371,95%CI：1.143~1.644）;来自湖北省的医学生知识知晓水平高,高学历、党员、有执业医师资格的学生疫情相关知识知晓水平高（P<0.05）。结论：江西省口腔医学生疫情关注度较高,相关知识知晓率低。医（学）院应加强学生器械使用操作规范培训和院感培训,并在培养方案中适当加入突发公共卫生应急相关课程,提高口腔医学人才培养质量。     

Soft Skills and Psychosocial Counselling in COVID-19 Times: the Changing Tactics

IntroductionAs the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly griping the world, it starts effecting the psychosocial health of the patients, health care workers, frontline workers and their dependents. The entire landscape of existing patient psychological counselling and management needs to be changed to avoid fear and misinformation about COVID-19.Material and methodsIn this article, we have tried to summarize the rules, regulations and protocols in accordance with government guidelines along with practical implementation of counselling in management of psychological health condition of patients and frontline workers.ConclusionIf used wisely and as per recommendations, psychosocial counselling is a very useful tool in the present COVID-19 pandemic, to avoid spread of misinformation, fear and grief about the disease which creates mental health issue and anxiety among close contacts as well as health care workers.     

The COVID-19 effect: number of patients presenting to The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals OMFS team with dental infections before and during The COVID-19 outbreak

This paper investigates the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak and closure of dental practices on the frequency and severity of dental infections presenting in our emergency department. We compared the mean number of daily emergency department referrals for dental abscesses in the two weeks prior to and following the Chief Dental Officer’s statement advising general dental practitioners to cease routine appointments, the mean number decreased from 1 to 0.37. In contrast, the severity and requirement for admission of these infections rose from 35% to 80%. This highlights the importance of the provision of local urgent dental centres during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to reduce pressure on secondary and tertiary care centres.     

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma activity: a French multicentre comparative study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has had a major impact on medical and surgical activities. A decline in facial trauma incidence was noticed during the lockdown period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the decline in maxillofacial trauma in France during this particular period. A retrospective multicentre comparative study was initiated in 13 major French public hospital centres. The incidence of facial trauma requiring surgery during the first month of lockdown was compared to that during equivalent periods in 2018 and 2019. Differences in the types of trauma were also analysed. Thirteen maxillofacial departments participated in the study. A significant decline in maxillofacial trauma volumes was observed when compared to equivalent periods in 2018 and 2019 (106 patients compared to 318 and 296 patients, respectively), with an average reduction of 65.5% (P = 0.00087). The proportion of trauma due to sports and leisure was reduced when compared to reports in the literature. As a consequence, in the context of a pandemic, the material and human resources related to this activity could be reallocated to the management of other pathologies that cannot be postponed.     

Resumption of Endodontic Practices in COVID-19 Hardest-Hit Area of China: A Web-based Survey

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to investigate the resumption of endodontic practices in Hubei Province, China 1 month after the end of the lockdown.MethodsA Web-based survey was sent to 1069 active endodontic specialists and general dentists who provided endodontic care in Hubei Province from May 7 to May 9, 2020. The survey consisted of 18 questions on demographics, the current situation of endodontic practice for the participants, and concerns regarding contracting or spreading the virus in newly opened endodontic practices.ResultsA total of 322 participants completed the survey. Most respondents (62%) were from Wuhan. Almost 83% of the respondents have resumed their endodontic practice partially or fully. Most respondents in practice (99%) would take measures to screen patients before treatment including paid screening measures. More than 93% of the respondents reported having taken special measures for routine endodontic treatment at this stage, with the most common measure taken being wearing an N95 mask. The rubber dam was recognized as efficient in preventing infection by most respondents. Many respondents were concerned about contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a result of routine endodontic practice at this stage, and respondents with more than 11 years of endodontic experience were significantly less concerned about infection compared with those with fewer than 5 years of experience (P < .05).ConclusionsThere is a fear of contracting/spreading COVID-19 among endodontic clinicians, the fear is negatively associated with years of practice, and most clinicians believe that rubber dam isolation can protect them and their patients from COVID-19.     

Dental Students’ Attitudes and Perspectives regarding Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Cross-sectional,Multi-university Study

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate the attitude and perspectives of dental students of four Croatian universities towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.Material and methodsAn anonymous internet-based survey was administered to undergraduate dental medicine students at the Universities of Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek. The 29-item questionnaire collected data on students’ demographics, online learning organization and management, and perception of online classes.ResultsFive hundred and four participants (85.1% female) took part in the survey. The majority of the participants (63.5%) were from the University of Zagreb. 39.6% of students reported agreement regarding online learning satisfaction. Individual university satisfaction ratings on overall online learning were: Osijek 3.69, Zagreb 3.22, Split 3.05 and Rijeka 2.64. Most students considered that lectures (82.9%) and seminars (78.9%) could be successfully delivered in an online learning format. The online learning format cannot successfully deliver laboratory, preclinical, clinical practicals or clinical clerkship, as agreed by more than 80% of the total student sample. 60% of students consider online learning a valuable alternative to face-to-face instruction.ConclusionOnline learning was highly praised for educational formats such as lectures and seminars, and was considered a useful substitute for conventional learning. Conventional practical courses cannot be substituted with online learning. Overall perspective about online learning was mixed among the students of four universities. The findings of the present study can serve to help individual universities address the shortcomings and reinforce the strengths of their OL programs.     

Recommendations for a safe restart of elective aerosol-generating oral surgery procedures following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak: An Italian multicenter study

Among healthcare workers, oral and maxillofacial surgeons are some of the most exposed to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The aim of this retrospective study was to develop suggestions for continuing the work of oral and maxillofacial surgeons using a safe protocol for elective and urgent aerosol-generating procedures that could prevent the onset of new clusters.Based on the results obtained and a guidelines review of those Asian countries that had promptly managed the current pandemic, the following safety protocol was developed: