Director of Health and Safety and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California San Francisco, San Franscisco, California.
Dean and Laura H. Carnell Professor, Temple University Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Compend Contin Educ Dent. 2021 Jun;42(6):306-313.
As COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, initially spread worldwide, limited information was available about the nature and modes of transmission of the virus. Scientific guidance on how to prevent transmission and the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, particularly in dental settings, was lacking. Consequently, the dental community became highly anxious about the possible risk of transmission in dental settings. Because of the uncertainties regarding safety measures needed to practice safely, clinical operations at many dental schools were reduced to emergency services only. Some clinics reopened for expanded services later in the spring or summer of 2020 after COVID-19 safety protocols were adopted. This article reviews the evidence that was used to develop COVID-19 safety protocols at two dental schools: University of California San Francisco and Temple University. The policies were aimed at ensuring safety for all dental personnel and patients receiving dental care at the schools. At these two academic dental institutions there have been no reports of SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to exposure while dental care was being provided or received. This is a testament to the COVID-19 safety protocols put in place for the provision of dental care with minimized risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
随着由冠状病毒 SARS-CoV-2 引起的 COVID-19 最初在全球范围内传播，有关该病毒的性质和传播方式的信息有限。缺乏关于如何预防 SARS-CoV-2 传播及其传染性的科学指导，特别是在牙科环境中。因此，牙科界对牙科环境中可能存在的传播风险感到高度焦虑。由于对实施安全操作所需的安全措施存在不确定性，许多牙科学院的临床操作仅减少到急诊服务。一些诊所于 2020 年春季或夏季在采用 COVID-19 安全协议后重新开放以扩大服务。本文回顾了加利福尼亚大学旧金山分校和天普大学两所牙科学校制定 COVID-19 安全协议所依据的证据。这些政策旨在确保学校所有牙科人员和接受牙科护理的患者的安全。在这两个学术牙科机构，没有因在提供或接受牙科护理时暴露而导致 SARS-CoV-2 传播的报告。这证明了为降低 SARS-CoV-2 感染风险而制定的牙科护理安全协议是有效的。
