Oral surgery in and after the COVID-19 period from the consultation to the operating room

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has rapidly spread worldwide at an unprecedented rate and has profound health and socioeconomic effects directly affecting all fields. From the onset of the pandemic, the authors realized the impending impact on the dental field. Dental professionals are uniquely exposed to environments with high levels of infection risk from aerosols and oral fluids. Dental treatment has become a challenge during the epidemic. However, the light of optimism has faded with the onset of vaccination. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance to dental surgeons on how to adapt their current practice during and after the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to consultation activity, surgical activity, and drug prescribing in oral surgery. Thus, an electronic search was performed from PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, Cochrane, Google Scholar and Sciencedirect databases. 35 articles were identified of which 24 were selected to compose this article. Within the limitations of this literature review, the presence of the virus is inevitable in oral surgery practice. Dentists must continue to provide care to their patients while monitoring the evolution of Covid-19.