Coronavirus disease 2019 and oral health: Changing paradigms and the public health perspective

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted all the areas of health care, including interruptions in the delivery of essential health care services in varied settings. In the oral settings, the virus transmission can happen either through direct transmission via inhalation of droplets produced during coughing or sneezing, or direct transmission via mucous membranes, or indirect transmission through contaminated surfaces or fomites. It is quite obvious that most of the aerosol-generating procedures are being done in the oral settings and thus the potential risk of transmission of infection cannot be ruled out. There is a specific need to strengthen infection prevention and control measures in the oral health care settings. In conclusion, the oral health care services need to be rigourosly strengthened in the current pandemic as there is a potential risk for the spread of the COVID-19 infection. The need of the hour is to continue the delivery of emergency services and at the same time delay the routine procedures to ensure safety of the patients as well as the health care personnel.