Are you worried about visiting your dental office for routine care amid the COVID-19 pandemic? You’re not alone. While many people have put off important medical and dental treatments due to fears of contracting the virus, a recent study has found that there is no connection between seeking appropriate oral care at a dentist’s office and higher odds of being exposed to COVID-19.
This means that you can safely go ahead with scheduled appointments without fear. Keep reading for more information regarding this uplifting new research!
Harvard Study Findings
Study shows dentists’ risk of contracting COVID-19 during clinical activities is low.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many dental clinics faced temporary closure or capacity restrictions due to aerosol procedures. Dentistry is a high-risk profession for SARS-CoV-2 transmission because clinicians must be close to patients’ mouths and noses.
A new paper published in JAMA Network Open shows that clinical activities did not increase the risk of COVID-19 when performed in a clinical care setting with standard PPE and comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 surveillance testing.
Between August 2020 and February 2022, the study was conducted at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). HSDM is the only Harvard graduate school that provides direct patient care. As part of Harvard University’s mandatory testing program, HSDM faculty, staff, and students underwent surveillance testing one to three times per week, depending on risk. This provided a pool of clinical and non-clinical individuals who were frequently tested for SARS-CoV-2.
The overall asymptomatic test positivity rate was 0.27 percent. Clinical activities did not increase the risk of COVID-19; while clinical individuals performed more tests per week on average, test positivity rate remained lower than non-clinical individuals, ensuring patient and practitioner safety in clinical settings, said Sung Choi, HSDM instructor in Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology and study author.
The study found that faculty, students, and staff in non-clinical roles contracted SARS-CoV-2 slightly more often than those in clinical-facing roles (0.25 vs. 0.36%).
Giang T. Nguyen, associate provost for campus health and wellbeing, executive director of Harvard University Health Services, and study contributor, said, “We were pleased that the comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 surveillance program at Harvard kept our community safe.” The dental school provided safe clinical care during the pandemic, despite a high student, staff, and faculty population.
The findings suggest that implementing an adaptive testing cadence based on risk status can help institutions detect SARS-CoV-2 and reduce infection risk in academic clinical care settings. It may also show how to safely provide clinical care in academic settings during future virus outbreaks.
HSDM Dean William Giannobile said the study shows a dental academic setting is safe for students, clinicians, and staff. No SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from doctor to patient during dental care during the pandemic.
Call Pinnacle to Schedule Your Next Appointment.
Evidently, the findings of the Harvard Study demonstrate that individuals can visit dental care providers confidently with the knowledge that they are not at a higher risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 based on their visits.
This should be encouraging news for those who have been hesitating to schedule appointments due to worries about COVID-19 risk. With this in mind, it is worth taking advantage of these necessary dental visits whenever possible.
As such, we urge the readers to call Pinnacle in Colorado Springs to book an appointment and get their oral health back on track – which will lead to a healthier mouth, body and mind.
