Pune's most recommended dentist during COVID-19_Small

he biggest challenge the world
Tis facing right now is the
outbreak of the novel Corona
virus. In last 7-8 months we possibly
have come to know everything
about this deadly virus and its origin.
Over 40 million people have been
infected globally so far by Covid-19.
In India there are 7.91 million active
cases right now with overall
recovery rate of 98%. The impact of
Covid-19 on the economy and
health sector of India is severe.
The whole world is going through
economic and health crises. India’s
ability to handle such crises is much
less than countries like America,
Europe and China. The outbreak of
Covid-19 was catastrophic and it led
these countries to change their
entire medical and health care
system which is not really possible
for India considering our economic
ability.
The health sector of India is affected
in a massive way just like rest of the
world. Initially, there were only
49,000 ventilators for Covid
patients, which is very insufficient
considering our 1.34 billion
population. The worst part is people
are so afraid of getting infected that
they are not going to the hospitals
for treatment of other diseases as
this is identified as nosocomial.
Cancer, heart disease and blood
sugar patients are most affected and
are not getting proper treatment as
most of the medical staffs are
deployed to fight the Corona virus.
Doctors, nurses and other medical
staffs are doing overtime and
working with less equipment with
the highest risk of getting infected
though the government along with
the hospital authorities is
implementing measures to help the
medical staffs. As the patients are
hesitant to visit hospitals, consulting
through telemedicine is gaining
popularity though not all illness can
be cured virtually. Dental health is
something that hardly can be cured
16 | October 2020 |
through telemedicine. Dental
surgeons are also at the highest risk
of contracting the Corona virus.
The huge risk that dental health
care sector is facing
The outbreak of Covid-19 has
significantly impacted the dental
health care sector as dentists are
exposed directly to the patient’s
transmitting organ. This is a huge
threat to the dentists. According to
New York Times, dental surgeons
along with nurses, paramedics and
other healthcare staffs are at the
highest risk of contracting and
transmitting Corona virus. While
private practices are not getting
patients due to hike in their fees, the
government colleges and hospitals
are facing challenges as they are not
compatible with government norms
and regulations. Doctors and other
health care staffs need to be extra
careful with dental checkups and
surgery as small mistakes or
irresponsible behaviour can lead to
a huge suffering. Without proper
equipments and resources most of
the dental healthcare clinics are
failing to provide proper sanitization
and strict hygiene protocol. Apart
from that the clinics have to pay
salaries and rents, though there are
no revenues for months, which is
causing a huge economic impact.
How to curb the risk?
A structural change is needed in our
dental healthcare sector for better
hygiene and treatment. The change
includes dentists and staff using
proper protection before meeting a
patient. Dentists and assistants
need to mandatorily use PPE suits,
goggles, face shields, N95 FFP3
masks, surgical gloves and shoe
covers. Not only proper equipment
but also proper training and process
management is important for safe
dental practices. They need to
update their knowledge and skills to
control the infection. Sanitizing the
clinic is as important as taking
precautions. Without proper
sanitization on regular intervals it
will be hard to stop the virus from
spreading further. The body
temperatures of patients should be
checked before entering the clinic to
make sure they are not possibly
infected. Another important part is
communication. Dentists need to be
honest and find ways to spread
knowledge and awareness among
the patients to prevent panics.
Teledentistry: Need of the Hour
The healthcare issues of people are
being addressed even in the times of
current crisis, thanks to technology.
With Teledentistry as a convenient
option, dental arena also has figured
the way to carry out their practices
and guide patients with dental
issues during this pandemic
situation. The idea of combining
telecommunications and dentistry,
involving the exchange of clinical
information and images over remote
distances for dental consultation
and treatment planning, is the need
of the hour.
Teledentistry not only has the ability
to improve access to oral healthcare,
improve the delivery of oral
healthcare, and lower its costs, but
also carries the potential to
eliminate the disparities in oral
health care between rural and urban
communities.
Concluding Statement
This is the new normal and the virus
is going to be here for a while. It
might sound bitter but this is
possibly the truth. To fight this
deadly virus we need to work
smartly and wisely. We need to be
prepared for situations like this as
this is not the end of a health crisis.
It is important for all the health care
sector staffs especially dental health
care personnel to educate
themselves as well as the common
people about the disease to prevent
anxiety and panic among the
patients.