COVID-19 UPDATE
ADA Urges Dentists to Heed April 30 Interim Postponement Recommendation

In a statement issued April 1, the ADA issued an  interim recommendation  that “dentists keep their offices closed to all but urgent and emergency procedures until April 30 at the earliest.” The ADA’s  original recommendation , issued March 16, was set to expire on April 6.

The interim recommendation is in keeping with the recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s  recommendation  to perform only emergency or urgent dental care.
 
According to the statement, “The ADA also recognizes that existing and future  local or state government mandates  supersede ADA recommendations. In addition, state dental associations may best understand local challenges being faced and make recommendations appropriate to members in their areas.”
 
In addition, “The ADA believes individual dentists should exercise professional judgment and carefully consider the risks outlined in the ADA’s  interim guidance  and weigh those risks against any possible benefit to the patient, the practice employees, the community at large, and the practitioner. Critically important is the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize any risk of transmission during emergency and urgent care. Due to the proximity of individuals during dental procedures, and the generation of aerosols, dentists, staff, and patients are at high risk of transmission.”
 
The statement concludes:

“The PPE required to reduce the risk of transmission during dental treatment to its lowest levels — as noted in algorithm No. 3 of the  ADA Interim Guidance for Management of Emergency and Urgent Dental Care  — are scarce. Asymptomatic patients cannot be assumed to be COVID-19 free.

As of March 31, point of care tests exist, but are extremely difficult to obtain. Unless point of care tests are readily available to the dental practice, no one can be assured that they are treating a non-infected individual.

The safety of their patients, staff and themselves should be foremost when dentists exercise their professional judgment, and information regarding the relative risks is available from the ADA, via the Interim Guidance, to assist in making those decisions.”
ADA Releases Interim Guidance To Help Dentists Minimize COVID-19 Transmission Risk When Treating Dental Emergencies

Resources discuss how to proceed before, during, after treatment

The American Dental Association has released interim guidance for dentists on how to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission before, during, and after treating dental emergencies.


  • Dentist and dental team preparation
  • Screening for COVID-19 status and triaging for dental treatment
  • Instructions for patient arrival
  • Infection control standards and COVID-19 transmission precautions, including personal protective equipment
  • Clinical technique recommendations
  • Steps to follow after suspected, unintentional exposure
  • Environment disinfection between patients
  • Post-operative instructions for patients
  • Steps to minimize exposure to others when going home after a workday

The corresponding  ADA Interim Guidance Flowcharts for Minimizing Risk of COVID-19 Transmission  illustrate algorithms for triaging patients for emergency and urgent dental care, screening to identify COVID-19 infection for emergency and urgent dental patients, and minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission for emergency and urgent dental patients and health care personnel.

The purpose of the algorithms is to assist dentists and dental offices in making informed decisions concerning patient triage, evaluation and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The algorithms are based on the best scientific information currently available to the ADA from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and scientific literature.

The ADA also has created an overview document —  Summary of ADA Guidance During the COVID-19 Crisis  — that summarizes COVID-19's impact on dentistry, emerging science on the disease, the ADA's guidance for minimizing risk during emergency treatment, and the resources the ADA has developed for dentists.

The interim guidance, flowcharts and summary document are available at  ADA.org/virusresources. The ADA is developing an online course on this interim guidance and continually updating its COVID-19 resources as new evidence and information become available.
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