The Exponential Rise of Teledentistry and Patient-Oriented Protective Measures in Southeast Asian Dental Clinics: Concerns, Benefits, and Challenges.

In the Southeast Asian region, various policies have been advocated by health regulatory bodies that entail protective measures such as face masks, gloves, maintaining distance in public areas, and more. These protective measures are aimed at helping reverse the growth rate of the coronavirus. Dentists in this region have incorporated several changes to their practices to help minimize risks of person-to-person transmission inside dental offices. This narrative review aimed to provide an in-depth overview of the current situation in the Southeast Asian region regarding the use of teledentistry during the pandemic. Teledentistry involves the transfer of patient information across remote distances for online consultation and treatment planning. A few years back, it used to be a lesser-known entity but has seen an exponential rise in its incorporation into dental practices all around the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) region. Many clinics in the Southeast Asian region have started using online consultations to ensure that patients can be diagnosed or followed up during their treatment. Teledentistry is the clear answer in the coming months as it will help reduce the risk of virus transmission and help patients get access to oral healthcare and dentists to see their patients. This article reviews the current pandemic situation in the ASEAN region, the recent evidence, and the scope of teledentistry. It also provides recommendations for the future and sheds light on the different types of teledentistry and how it can be incorporated into practices by regulatory authorities in this region.

Palatal mucormycosis in a patient with SARSCoV- 2 infection: CMAJ

Mucormycosis is caused by the saprophytic aerobic fungi Rhizopus, Rhizomucor and Cunninghamella of the order Mucorales. Disease transmission occurs mainly via inhalation of spores or direct inoculation onto damaged skin or mucosa from environmental sources such as soil and animal faeces. Mucormycosis can present as rhinocerebral, pulmonary, cutaneous, gastrointestinal or disseminated disease and may be lethal. Tissue necrosis is a characteristic feature, caused by angioinvasion and vascular thrombosis. First-line treatment is surgical débridement and liposomal amphotericin B. Here, Venugopal and Marya present the case of a 53-year-old woman with palatal mucormycosis and COVID-19.

Biomedical waste management in dental practice and its significant environmental impact: A perspective

Biomedical waste (BMW) is an emerging occupational and environmental health hazard in the health care platform. BMW in any form generated from hospitals during diagnosis, surgery, management of patients, antibiotics, radioactive isotope needs proper handling and disposal. In the field of dentistry, mercury waste, waste from dental amalgam, lead, and silver-containing waste were often found and have severe risks for health and are also environmental hazards. This also has an impact and risk of airborne pathogens if its improperly handled and disposed of. All these contaminated waste-like syringes, needles, sharps, blood-soaked gauze, which leads to infections, must be properly disposed of in various color codes indicated for a certain category of biomedical waste as per the guidelines from the government for the disposal. This article throws light on the categories of biomedical waste and extensive literature review on the research performed, waste generated from dental Clinics and hospitals. Environmental audit guidelines in the health care sector and its importance, alternative waste handling methods like the robotic model, which is an artificial intelligence employed to handle biomedical waste at a large scale, are discussed.

Robotic Applications in Orthodontics: Changing the Face of Contemporary Clinical Care.

The last decade (2010-2021) has witnessed the evolution of robotic applications in orthodontics. This review scopes and analyzes published orthodontic literature in eight different domains: (1) robotic dental assistants; (2) robotics in diagnosis and simulation of orthodontic problems; (3) robotics in orthodontic patient education, teaching, and training; (4) wire bending and customized appliance robotics; (5) nanorobots/microrobots for acceleration of tooth movement and for remote monitoring; (6) robotics in maxillofacial surgeries and implant placement; (7) automated aligner production robotics; and (8) TMD rehabilitative robotics. A total of 1,150 records were searched, of which 124 potentially relevant articles were retrieved in full. 87 studies met the selection criteria following screening and were included in the scoping review. The review found that studies pertaining to arch wire bending and customized appliance robots, simulative robots for diagnosis, and surgical robots have been important areas of research in the last decade (32%, 22%, and 16%). Rehabilitative robots and nanorobots are quite promising and have been considerably reported in the orthodontic literature (13%, 9%). On the other hand, assistive robots, automated aligner production robots, and patient robots need more scientific data to be gathered in the future (1%, 1%, and 6%). Technological readiness of different robotic applications in orthodontics was further assessed. The presented eight domains of robotic technologies were assigned to an estimated technological readiness level according to the information given in the publications. Wire bending robots, TMD robots, nanorobots, and aligner production robots have reached the highest levels of technological readiness: 9; diagnostic robots and patient robots reached level 7, whereas surgical robots and assistive robots reached lower levels of readiness: 4 and 3, respectively.

Risk Perception of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Implementation of Various Protective Measures by Dentists Across Various Countries.

OBJECTIVE: Healthcare workers in general are at a high risk of potential infections with COVID-19, especially those who work with aerosol generating procedures. Dentists fall in this category, as not only do they operate with aerosol generating procedures but also operate within a face-to-face contact area. METHODS: A structured self-administered questionnaire was developed at Najran University and provided to the participants for data collection. The data collected included information on risk perception and incorporation of measures for protection against COVID-19 to gauge the attitude of dentists during this period. Also, clinical implementation of various protective measures was reviewed. RESULTS: Of the n = 322 dentists that answered the questions, 50% were general dentists and 28.9% were dentists working at specialist clinics, while the remaining 21.1% of dentists were employed in academic institutions. Among the newer additions to the clinic, 36.3% of dentists answered that they had added atomizers to their practices, followed by 26.4% of dentists that had incorporated the use of UV lamps for sterilization. We found that 18.9% dentists were using HEPA filters in their clinics, while 9.9% of dentists were making use of fumigation devices to control the risk of infection. One-way ANOVA was also carried out to demonstrate that there was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.049) between groups of dentists utilizing HEPA filters, UV lamps, atomizers, and fumigation devices to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV2 across their workplaces. CONCLUSION: Dentists are aware of recently updated knowledge about the modes of transmission of COVID-19 and the recommended infection control measures in dental settings. A better understanding of the situation and methods to prevent it will ensure that the dental community is able to provide healthcare services to patients during the pandemic.

Essential Attributes of Clear Aligner Therapy in terms of Appliance Configuration, Hygiene, and Pain Levels during the Pandemic: A Brief Review.

Fixed orthodontic treatment has been compromised at many levels during the pandemic period, as clinics underwent a prolonged lockdown and patients could not be treated regularly. With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, may be it is time to put newer tools, such as clear aligner therapy, for better use. Fixed orthodontic appliances by nature are not always self-limiting, which, if left unmonitored over a long period may cause undesirable side effects, pain, and discomfort. The undesired tooth movements that may occur with arch wire-guided mechanics in addition to problems with cut wires or removed brackets may be minimized with the use of aligners. While the benefits of using aligners are for all to see, they do require extensive planning and careful evaluation of the progress. This article reviews the advantages of using aligners during the pandemic period and how it can be beneficial in helping orthodontists resume their practice.