J Am Dent Assoc. 2020 Nov;151(11):815-824. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2020.09.005.
Understanding the risks associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission during oral health care delivery and assessing mitigation strategies for dental offices are critical to improving patient safety and access to oral health care.
The authors invited licensed US dentists practicing primarily in private practice or public health to participate in a web-based survey in June 2020. Dentists from every US state (n = 2,195) answered questions about COVID-19-associated symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 infection, mental and physical health conditions, and infection control procedures used in their primary dental practices.
Most of the dentists (82.2%) were asymptomatic for 1 month before administration of the survey; 16.6% reported being tested for SARS-CoV-2; and 3.7%, 2.7%, and 0% tested positive via respiratory, blood, and salivary samples, respectively. Among those not tested, 0.3% received a probable COVID-19 diagnosis from a physician. In all, 20 of the 2,195 respondents had been infected with SARS-CoV-2; weighted according to age and location to approximate all US dentists, 0.9% (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 1.5) had confirmed or probable COVID-19. Dentists reported symptoms of depression (8.6%) and anxiety (19.5%). Enhanced infection control procedures were implemented in 99.7% of dentists' primary practices, most commonly disinfection, COVID-19 screening, social distancing, and wearing face masks. Most practicing dentists (72.8%) used personal protective equipment according to interim guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
COVID-19 prevalence and testing positivity rates were low among practicing US dentists. This indicates that the current infection control recommendations may be sufficient to prevent infection in dental settings.
Dentists have enhanced their infection control practices in response to COVID-19 and may benefit from greater availability of personal protective equipment. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04423770.
了解在口腔保健治疗过程中与严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）传播相关的风险，并评估牙科诊室的缓解策略，对于提高患者安全性和获得口腔保健至关重要。
作者邀请了主要在私人诊所或公共卫生部门执业的美国持照牙医参加 2020 年 6 月的一项网络调查。来自美国各州的牙医（n=2195）回答了与 COVID-19 相关症状、SARS-CoV-2 感染、心理健康和身体健康状况以及在其主要牙科实践中使用的感染控制程序有关的问题。
大多数牙医（82.2%）在进行调查前 1 个月无症状；16.6%报告接受了 SARS-CoV-2 检测；3.7%、2.7%和 0%分别通过呼吸道、血液和唾液样本检测呈阳性。在未接受检测的人群中，有 0.3%的人从医生那里获得了可能的 COVID-19 诊断。共有 20 名 2195 名受访者感染了 SARS-CoV-2；根据年龄和地点加权以近似所有美国牙医，0.9%（95%置信区间，0.5 至 1.5）确诊或可能 COVID-19。牙医报告了抑郁（8.6%）和焦虑（19.5%）的症状。99.7%的牙医在其主要实践中实施了增强的感染控制程序，最常见的是消毒、COVID-19 筛查、社交距离和戴口罩。大多数执业牙医（72.8%）根据疾病控制和预防中心的临时指南使用个人防护设备。
在美国执业牙医中，COVID-19 的患病率和检测阳性率较低。这表明当前的感染控制建议可能足以防止牙科环境中的感染。
牙医已经加强了他们的感染控制措施以应对 COVID-19，并且可能受益于更多的个人防护设备的供应。ClinicalTrials.gov：NCT04423770。
