17 April 2020

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COVID-19 and dentistry, an overview from Doctor Roberto Burioni.

Translation: Prof. Luca Pani

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The Coronavirus emergency, how the virus is changing, and how it will change the dental profession, were analyzed and explained by one of the leading experts in the field: the virologist Doctor Roberto Burioni.

Doctor Burioni summarized the general picture of the current situation, giving us indications on realistic future scenarios with a clear assumption, "it is a virus of which we still know little and therefore it must be accepted that many questions still do not have an answer".  

When could Dentists reopen their practice and When will the situation get back to normal?
To the second question, Doctor Burioni has no answer, except to find a vaccine, or at least, identify drugs which are already in existence that could make the disease harmless or the virus less aggressive. 

Regarding the first question, however, he is clear. Admitting that the profession of a dentist, with the otolaryngologist, are those most at risk; Doctor Burioni recalls being a dentist's doctor,
"Dentists treat people who are sick, I can understand that a beauty salon can reopen later, but for dentists, it is different. When I go to the dentist, I go there because I have a health problem to solve and if I don't solve it, it gets worse. I think that the medical activity must restart immediately otherwise, in the coming months, we will pay a higher price in terms of severe pathologies of the oral cavity. Who has a bad tooth cavity must treat it, otherwise he will perhaps be forced to devitalize the tooth or, worse, to extract it".
Of course, Dr. Burioni continued, "Dentists will have to work in safety, official guidelines will come and will explain how Dentists should behave: respect them, follow them, exaggerate in overestimation rather than an underestimation, measure the temperature to patients, to collaborators and in doubt send the patient back".

Dr. Burioni, then, dispensed useful indications to the profession, starting from the attention to the disinfection of the surfaces, to be done with the normal detergent, the handwashing and the use of suitable PPE.
Regarding the masks, Dr. Burioni remembered how the surgical ones must be used by those who must not transmit the virus, who work in contact with the patient's aerosol must use the FFP2, FFP3, and N95 designated masks.
Dr. Burioni admitted that the management of the patient will have to change, compared to how it was managed before, and advised: in the waiting room only one patient at the time, as well as in the clinical area; in the case of minors or patients who need an escort or caregiver, he or she must be away from the operators and wear a surgical mask.
At the end of each visit, every surface must be cleaned and the air exchanged. The same procedures should also  be adopted in the waiting room and in the other areas where the patient will walk or wait.
 Doctor Burioni also talks about tools such as quick tests which, once validated, can become useful for the dentist to understand if the patient, or some member of his team, is potentially infected.

Original source and video of the interview in Italian: http://www.odontoiatria33.it/approfondimenti/19236/covid-19-ed-odontoiatria-il-punto-del-prof-roberto-burioni.html