Impact of pandemic COVID-19 on dental services: A review

Abstract

COVID-19 has emerged as a pandemic outbreak, and it has become a virulent disease. Coronavirus belongs to the family of enveloped, single-stranded, positive-strand RNA viruses classified under Nidovirales order. Dentists are at very high risk to get exposed to the virus due to direct contact with the oral cavity and aerosol produced by the salivary droplets of patients. Hence, several dental care facilities in the affected nations were completely closed or have been presenting minimum remedy for emergency cases. This assessment article aimed to provide a brief knowledge about the origin, mode of transmission, stages of spread of the disease, effect of the outbreak of the disease on dentistry, and patient management and prevention guidelines to be followed by dental practitioners.