The COVID-19 pandemic and dentistry: the clinical, legal and economic consequences-part 2: consequences of withholding dental care

被引:35
作者
Coulthard, Paul [1 ,2 ]
Thomson, Peter [3 ,4 ]
Dave, Manas [5 ]
Coulthard, Francesca P. [6 ]
Seoudi, Noha [7 ]
Hill, Mike [8 ]
机构
[1] Queen Mary Univ London, Barts & London Sch Med & Dent, Oral & Maxillofacial Surg, London, England
[2] Queen Mary Univ London, Barts & London Sch Med & Dent, Dent, London, England
[3] Univ Hong Kong, Fac Dent, Oral & Maxillofacial Surg, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
[4] Univ Hong Kong, Fac Dent, Prince Philip Dent Hosp, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
[5] Univ Manchester, Oral & Maxillofacial Pathol, Manchester, Lancs, England
[6] Thornhill Dent, Dewsbury, England
[7] Queen Mary Univ London, Barts & London Sch Med & Dent, Oral Microbiol, London, England
[8] Parklane Plowden Chambers, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England
关键词
PERIODONTAL ABSCESS; DISEASES; SEPSIS; TEETH;
D O I
10.1038/s41415-020-2406-9
中图分类号
R78 [口腔科学];
学科分类号
1003 ;
摘要
As routine care was suspended in most countries, one could anticipate progression of undiagnosed and managed oral disease. Patients are usually unaware of the development of oral disease as it is not visible to them and largely asymptomatic, especially in its early stages. The natural progression of conditions such as caries and periodontitis is inevitable without diagnosis and management. The full extent of patient harm because of the suspension of routine dental care can only be estimated when routine oral examinations are fully re-established, and even then, we will probably never know the number of individuals impacted or the extent of disease progression and harm. In first-world countries, there has always been a back-up emergency treatment system for dental problems. For example, in the UK, the safety net for life-threatening swellings and for acute pain relief is the accident and emergency services. This system remained in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Courts could be expected to understand the coronavirus context and would take this into account should there be a complaint against the clinician about access to care. The suspension of routine dental care to save lives will lead to the closure of many dental practices due to substantial financial impact. The return to routine care will be slow, with prioritisation of non-aerosol generating procedures while we look to further understand methods to mitigate transmission risk via infected aerosol and spatter. Inevitably, the cost of personal protective equipment and the lower volume of patients pose a continued threat to businesses.
引用
收藏
页码:801 / 805
页数:5
相关论文
共 40 条
[1]   A clinical classification of the status of the pulp and the root canal system [J].
Abbott, P. V. ;
Yu, C. .
AUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, 2007, 52 (01) :S17-S31
[2]   Demineralization-remineralization dynamics in teeth and bone [J].
Abou Neel, Ensanya Ali ;
Aljabo, Anas ;
Strange, Adam ;
Ibrahim, Salwa ;
Coathup, Melanie ;
Young, Anne M. ;
Bozec, Laurent ;
Mudera, Vivek .
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NANOMEDICINE, 2016, 11 :4743-4763
[3]   The vicious cycle of dental fear: Exploring the interplay between oral health, service utilization and dental fear [J].
Armfield J.M. ;
Stewart J.F. ;
Spencer A.J. .
BMC Oral Health, 7 (1)
[4]   Oral health-related quality of life in patients seeking care for dentin hypersensitivity [J].
Bekes, K. ;
John, M. T. ;
Schaller, H-G. ;
Hirsch, C. .
JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, 2009, 36 (01) :45-51
[5]  
Bermejo-Fenoll A, 2004, Med. Oral Patol. Oral Cir. Bucal, V9, P108
[6]   Death from overwhelming odontogenic sepsis: a case report [J].
Carter, L. ;
Lowis, E. .
BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL, 2007, 203 (05) :241-242
[7]   Letter to the Editor: Use of Dental Radiography in the COVID-19 Pandemic [J].
Dave, M. ;
Coulthard, P. ;
Patel, N. ;
Seoudi, N. ;
Horner, K. .
JOURNAL OF DENTAL RESEARCH, 2020, 99 (09) :1112-1112
[8]   Telephone triaging and possible sepsis? [J].
Dave, M. ;
Barry, S. ;
Patel, N. .
BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL, 2020, 228 (07) :488-488
[9]  
Dave M, 2020, DENT UPDATE, V47, P452
[10]   Urgent dental care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic [J].
Dave, Manas ;
Seoudi, Noha ;
Coulthard, Paul .
LANCET, 2020, 395 (10232) :1257-1257