Emergency Management in a Dental Clinic During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Epidemic in Beijing

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In mid-March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was to be characterised as a pandemic. The purpose of this article is to recommend emergency management procedures for dental clinics during this public health emergency. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have implemented a series of emergency management measures to prevent cross-infection in our dental clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic, including personnel scheduling, division of the clinic into functional areas, limitation or delay of non-emergency patients, staff protection and infection controls, clinical environmental disinfection, and the use of online consultation services, among others. RESULTS: Due to public health policy and dental emergency management, the number of dental visitors to our clinic dropped sharply, and no COVID-19 suspected cases or high-risk patients received treatment. There have been no reports of infection of dental staff or patients during dental treatment in China to date. CONCLUSION: These public health policies and dental emergency management measures were effective in controlling cross-infection of COVID-19 in the dental clinic. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: We share control measures for COVID-19, and hope that they will be helpful for dental professionals worldwide to continue to provide dental care in a safe and orderly manner.