Covid-19 and latin american Dentistry for patients with special needs

ABSTRACT

The Latin American region has become the most affected in the world by the COVID-19 pandemic. And people with special needs, a population already vulnerable, are suffering a significant impact from the current crisis. Since these people cannot stop being protected and cared for, a group of professors from 10 Latin American countries met to analyze the situation of dentistry for patients with special needs in the region. In all countries, it was evidenced that confinement and movement restrictions are interrupting access to essential goods and services for them. In dentistry, the general provision is to postpone routine procedures, unless they are clinically urgent or emergency;adopt strict personal protection measures and avoid or minimize interventions that may produce aerosols. Remote dentistry care, teledentistry, is considered a fundamental tool at this time, since it allows evaluating the need for face-to-face care and offering support, information and security to patients and families. The pandemic has shown us all that drive Health Promotion is the true path, and that we should not wait for conditions that affect the quality of life to come up.