AUTHOR=Miguita Lucyene , Martins-Chaves Roberta Rayra , Geddes Victor Emmanuel Viana , Mendes Suellen da Rocha , Costa Sara Ferreira dos Santos , Fonseca Paula Luize Camargos , Menezes Diego , Souza Rafael Marques de , Queiroz Daniel Costa , Alves Hugo José , Freitas Raphaela Alvarenga Braga de , Cruz Aline Fernanda , Moreira Rennan Garcias , Moreira Filipe Romero Rebello , Bemquerer Larissa Marques , Aguilar Diego Rodrigues de , Souza e Silva Maria Elisa de , Sampaio Aline Araújo , Jardilino Francisca Daniele Moreira , Souza Leandro Napier de , Silva Tarcilia Aparecida da , Gomes Carolina Cavaliéri , de Abreu Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães , Aguiar Renato Santana de , Souza Renan Pedra de , Gomez Ricardo Santiago 

TITLE=Biosafety in Dental Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oral Health

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oral-health/articles/10.3389/froh.2022.871107

DOI=10.3389/froh.2022.871107

ISSN=2673-4842

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had quite an impact on dental health care. Concerns about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission through contaminant fluids and droplet formation during several dental procedures highly impacted dental health care, drastically reducing the number of dental practices worldwide. To monitor SARS-CoV-2 contamination in dental clinics, a longitudinal study was carried out during the return of dental practice at university.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Dental health care professionals [(DHCPs); teachers, undergraduate dental students, and dental assistants] and patients were screened for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a dental school clinic environment from 11<sup>th</sup> January to 12<sup>th</sup> March 2021 (9 weeks). Serological testing was performed on DHCPs in two-time points. Additionally, samples with low <italic>Ct</italic> values were sequenced to identify the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant and possible transmission clusters.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We found a low number of dental staff (5.8%), patients (0.9%), and environment sites (0.8%) positive for SARS-CoV-2. Most positive cases had asymptomatic to mild symptoms, and two asymptomatic DHCPs presented prolonged infection. In the first week after previous exposure to COVID-19, 16.2% of DHCPs had IgM or IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and 1/3 of them had undetected antibodies in the last weeks. The variant zeta (P.2) could be detected. No cross-infection was observed between participants.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Our study suggests that dental practice can be safely executed when adequate control measures and biosafety protocols are applied. DHCP and patient testing, patient telemonitoring, proper use of personal protection equipment, and sanitization of surfaces are essential to avoid SARS-CoV-2 cross-infection in dental practice.</p></sec>