The Dubai Health Authority has approved guidelines for providing dental services during the Coved 19 pandemic, which includes taking controls and measures to protect patients, health care professionals and employees who provide dental services from Coved 19, while re-engaging dental health facilities in providing routine care.
The Authority has currently classified dental services into five categories: "routine and optional care and includes, periodic checks and consultations, routine dental cleaning and preventive care, dental procedures except acute problems, asymptomatic extraction of teeth, and restorative dentistry including treatment of acute lesions." Asymptomatic, cosmetic dental procedures.
The second category includes non-urgent dental problems and includes, restoration of broken teeth that do not cause pain, dental structures (crown or bridge), and soft orthodontic wire that does not cause injury to neighboring soft tissues, while the third category includes urgent dental problems, including dental infections. That do not affect the patient's breathing or his ability to swallow and can be remedied remotely, dental or facial pain that can be treated remotely, bleeding and gums that can be managed via remote advice, dental modification of patients receiving radiotherapy, and modifications or repairs to dentures Which does not function properly.
The fourth category included dental emergencies such as, trauma that leads to a fracture or moving of the tooth, bones of the mouth or tear of soft tissues, swelling of the face and body that is harmful to swallowing or breathing, post-extraction bleeding that does not respond to self-care measures, severe pain or intoxication It responds to over-the-counter analgesics, oral ulcers, and the fifth category includes the necessary dental procedures, and is determined by doctors to maintain the patient's mouth health, and these decisions are based on the professional diagnostic judgment of the dentist, and the standards of care prevailing in the professional community.
The authority emphasized that health facilities that provide dental services during the Covid 19 pandemic can provide urgent and urgent dental services, and can also provide non-urgent and necessary dental procedures, if necessary or as determined by the treating dentist, and procedures for generating aerosols should be avoided Air, whenever possible, and all necessary safety measures must be taken to protect the patient and the healthcare professional who provide the dental service, and all routine and optional care must be managed through dentistry remotely or postponed as a preventive measure to avoid transmission of SARS Cove 2 virus, and if a patient needs as Coved suspect 19 He or she is positive to urgent or urgent treatment, to be referred to hospital.
The panel recommended that the patients be screened and examined by phone by asking them several questions, and dental treatment should be available only to patients with low risk, and to receive patients who have an appointment only, and the authority stated that dental clinics should have protocols for the evaluation, screening, scheduling and treatment of emergency patients, urgent and followers , The telemedicine protocol to minimize patient contact, provide advice and self-management, prescribe painkillers or antibiotics, emergency reservation, urgent care or referral, the protocol for patients entering and leaving the clinic or hospital, the protocol for wearing and removing personal protection equipment, and the anti-protocol protocol Infection, sterilization and decontamination-related 19.
On emergency management and urgent patients, the commission recommended that all patients be screened and examined for Covid-19 by phone before arriving at the hospital or dental clinic, and to maintain a time period of 20 minutes between each patient’s appointment and another, and to ensure that there is one patient in the examination clinic for each doctor.
The authority stressed the need to check the temperature of all patients upon their arrival in the clinic or hospital, especially for symptoms of Covid 19, and inform patients not to take any medicines to reduce the temperature before their appointment with the dentist, and make sure there are two meters between the dealers in the reception and waiting area, and children under the age of Eighteen years to come to the clinic with an adult from the same family. The patient’s personal belongings must be kept in one bag, approving financial transactions by paying without touching and discouraging the use of banknotes, trying to perform treatment in one visit if possible, and avoiding follow-up visits and communication via Phone if necessary.
Regarding infection control measures and health precautions, the authority emphasized that all dental clinics and hospitals should be examined for fever and symptoms of Covid 19 before each shift, and employees who report or show any signs or symptoms of Covid 19 must perform self-quarantine and seek medical assistance And, if it is confirmed that the employee has Covid 19, he should inform the health facility immediately, and precautions must be taken by all health care personnel and professionals while treating any patient, just as the suspected Covid 19 case is dealt with.
The authority stressed the commitment of the reception desk and the medical staff to personal protective equipment, and display the visual instructions clearly at the entrance to the clinic or hospital to include that: Only patients who have appointments will be accepted, and patients who want to set an appointment to do so by phone, and asking patients to wait Outside the facility if they can (for example in their car) until their appointment.
According to the commission, patients should be taken directly to the treatment room to avoid waiting at the facility, wearing face masks and gloves by the staff at the front desk, maintaining a distance of two meters between the dealers and reception staff, protection measures can be put between patients and reception staff, and making sure all Employees for personal protective equipment and hand hygiene when entering the workplace, before and after contact with the patient, after contacting contaminated surfaces or equipment, and after removing personal protective equipment.
The authority emphasized that dentists should wear N95 masks or equivalent masks, face shield, gloves and gowns for procedures that do not generate aerosols, gowns (which cover the entire body) are recommended for procedures that generate aerosols, and care professionals must have Health in the treatment room separate shoes for clinical activities.
The authority pointed to the need to remove things, such as the remote control of the TV or air conditioner or others, publications, toys or other common objects in the patient's waiting area, and regularly clean and sterilize the seats and tables in the patient waiting area, and hand sanitizers and gloves must be provided Masks for use by anyone entering the clinic at the entrance to the dental clinic or front desk, and promoting etiquette for coughing or sneezing. Toilets must be kept closed with a notification display asking patients to request entry to the toilet facilities to ensure environmental cleaning after each use. Handles must be disinfected The doors are at regular intervals.
The Dubai Health Authority drew attention to identifying at least one room for procedures that generate aerosols according to several criteria: negative pressure (only necessary for confirmed cases of Covid 19), availability of filters (HEPA), a strong aspirator for the mouth, and keeping the number of employees in the treatment room to the extent Minimum required.
The authority emphasized the removal of all unnecessary papers, tools and equipment from worktops in the treatment room, and the use of packaging (such as plastic sheeting) on: computer keyboards and other input devices such as mouse, floodlights, headrest, dental arm and treatment equipment, and aspirator head Mouth, dispose of these covers after each patient, and ensure that the treatment chair and its instruments are disinfected and sterilized before and after each patient.
The authority said that one-time consumables should be used when needed to avoid contamination, sterilize medical equipment (hand cutting) that the doctor uses in the autoclave after each patient, and clean and disinfect all surfaces in the dental treatment room after each patient wears gloves, mask and face protector.
The Dubai Health Authority said that if the surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned with soap and water before disinfection, and the cleaning and sterilization of public places frequently such as: handles and elevator doors, lighting switches, chairs, offices, and bathrooms, and tissue, alcohol and soap are provided on the basins and garbage bins as needed Chamber pressure should be maintained according to settings (dental treatment rooms are usually positively compressed).
Dubai Health emphasized that all medical waste should be disposed of according to the requirements of Dubai Municipality, and that the services approved by Dubai Municipality for sterilization and disinfection should be used if the clinic is unable to do so.
Regarding treatment precautions, the Dubai Health Authority said that dentists, nurses, dental assistants and health professionals should work together to reduce and reduce the spread of infection in their environment, and to provide infection prevention and control methods to all employees according to the current Covid 19 guidelines, effective hand hygiene, and the use of protective equipment Personality, Wearing and Removing, Effective Environmental Cleaning, and it is advisable to divide employees into fixed teams to always work with the same colleagues in order to help track mixing.