Protocols for dentists during Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

A novel β-coronavirus (COVID-19) caused severe and even fetal pneumonia explored in a seafood market of Wuhan city, Hubei province, China, and rapidly spread to other provinces of China and other countries across the globe. COVID-19 declared as pandemic in Feb 2020’. COVID-19 was different from SARS-CoV, but shared the same host receptor the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It has been documented that ACE2 is the main host cell receptor of COVID-19 virus and plays a crucial role in the entry of virus into the cell to cause the fatal infection. Interestingly, it has been found that ACE2 receptor are highly enriched in epithelial cells of tongue and saliva can act as a diagnostic marker for detecting virus. Dental personnel are expose to tremendous risk of COVID-19 infection due to the face-to-face communication and the exposure to saliva, blood, and other body fluids etc. Dental professionals plays great roles in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.