Dental medicine and COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT

Specific airborne infection with characteristic symptoms - high fever, headache, persisting dry cough, loss of taste and smell and overall tiredness originates from Wuhan in China where it was discovered in December 2019. Due to rapid dissemination the epidemic has become a pandemic caused by coronavirus on March 11 2020. It changed the world over night and made human life different; for some it was the ultimate change. In these fluctuating times the dental medicine, especially in the developed and advancing areas, completely stopped. Responsible behaviour of dentists, aimed at stopping the spread of the virus from dental offices showed that only emergency procedures were to be performed, in cases of toothache, trauma and odontogenic infections that might put organs or systems at risk. At the same time, with the cessation of all types of treatments, there was an immediate cessation of teaching processes in all university settings for dental medicine, since the data from China strongly suggested death rates among doctors and students in close contact with infected persons. Stress and unease that have grown among people due to isolation and quarantine, the only ways of prevention of the spread of the invisible enemy will have long-lasting and visible effect on mental health of the people. Health issues in the oral cavity will most certainly occur due to the lack of regular check-ups and care. Caries and periodontal disease will appear more frequently. While we are expecting an efficient vaccine, the only way to counter the virus are epidemiological measures and responsible behaviour of every individual, in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 virus.