Summary of a report for Canadian oral health professionals for a safe return to clinical practice during COVID-19.

Following the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Canadian healthcare providers were advised or mandated by their regulatory bodies to cease all routine and elective care and only provide emergent/urgent care in March 2020. Two months later, the provincial/territorial governments initiated plans to "re-open" their jurisdictions; however, oral health practitioners are returning to practice in a very different environment, particularly in the domain of infection control and prevention, to the one they left prior to the onset of the pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian oral health professional decision-makers at all levels have been making decisions and providing advice and guidance in a highly complex, rapidly evolving environment, often based on imperfect and/or incomplete information. To gather, summarize and present these changes in oral health workplace environments and protocols, the Office of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada has commissioned the development of a multidisciplinary, high-level national expert review document, which resides in the public domain. This document is available for Canada's oral health regulatory authorities, educators, program officials and policy makers.