Practice Guidelines Addressing Needs of Pakistani Dentists During the COVID-19 Pandemic Part 2: Recommendations

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to develop interim workflow guidelines based on specific needs of dental settings in Pakistan, to help navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODOLOGY: Based on needs identified by a survey of 60 dental practitioners, guidelines and protocols were developed after reviewing documents by international and local professional organizations from the fields of dental health care, public health, and hospital epidemiology and infection control.
RESULTS: Recommendations providing details on clinic reorganization, improvement in clinic ventilation, walk-in patient management, PPE use, and environmental infection control, were developed. Protocols have been outlined for performing aerosol generating procedures and for disinfection after procedures.
CONCLUSION: This report supplements the Government of Pakistan guidelines for practicing dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training of dental health care workers in basic, and in COVID-19 infection control is necessary for adequate implementation of these guidelines.
KEYWORDS: COVID-19, dentistry, infection control, guidelines, ventilation, Pakistan
HOW TO CITE: Qazi SR, Rehman N, Nasir S. Practice guidelines addressing needs of Pakistani dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic part 2: Recommendations. J Pak Dent Assoc 2020;29(S):S14-29.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25301/JPDA.29S.S14
Received: 23 May 2020, Accepted: 02 June 2020

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