AMB Volume 40, Issue 3, 2024 Pages 290-296 https://doi.org/10.59393/amb24400302
Covid-19 and Its Impact in Dental Health and Profession: A Review
Tsitou V.M., Rallis D., Gergova R.
The COVID-19 pandemic, driven by SARS-CoV-2, has profoundly affected global healthcare, challenging both medical and dental practices. Emerging in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 quickly escalated into a pandemic, leading the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency. This review explores the pathogenesis, transmission, systemic health effects, and oral health implications of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2, a beta coronavirus, spreads mainly through respiratory droplets, with aerosols and fomites also playing roles in its transmission. The virus binds strongly to the ACE2 receptor, present in respiratory, myocardial, and oral and nasal mucosa cells, facilitating infection and replication. The ensuing immune response, critical for viral clearance, can lead to a hyperinflammatory ‚cytokine storm‘, causing severe complications like ARDS and multi-organ failure. Clinically, COVID-19 ranges from asymptomatic cases to severe systemic involvement, affecting cardiovascular, neurological, renal, and hematological systems. Oral health issues such as dysgeusia and xerostomia are increasingly noted, indicating the virus‘s broader impact. This review emphasizes the need for stringent infection control in dental practices, including enhanced protective measures and procedural adaptations. A multidisciplinary approach integrating oral health into broader COVID-19 strategies is crucial. Continued research is essential to understand the long-term implications of COVID-19 and to refine preventive and therapeutic strategies, shaping future healthcare policies.
Keywords: COVID-19, prevention, oral cavity, oral mucosa, ACE2, oral hygiene
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