COVID-19 : Review of European recommendations and experts' opinion on dental care. Summary and consensus statements of group 5. The 6th EAO Consensus Conference 2021.

OBJECTIVES: The present work reports the EAO Workshop group 5 and consensus plenary discussions and statements based on two reviews summarising European guidelines and experts' opinion on infection control and prevention (ICP) in dentistry during the pandemic. MATERIAL: Two manuscripts were presented at the 6th EAO Consensus Conference. The first study compared the most recent national guidelines/recommendations of European countries. The second paper was an experts' opinion-based survey on application of ICP regulation during the second wave. The outcome of COVID-19 group discussion was presented to all participants of the consensus to come to an agreement about the consensus statements and clinical recommendation. RESULTS: The dynamic of the pandemic had an impact on rapidly published and frequently updated national guidelines in Europe. As guidelines were not based on solid evidence, they were supplemented by experts' opinion on ICP in dentistry. The dental care should be guaranteed during the pandemic, however in case of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 disease, the treatment should be postponed if possible. Remote triage and patient-related measures (i.e., social distancing, hand hygiene and mask wearing) were recommended to be the most efficient to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The type of personal protective equipment for dental staff should be adequate to the procedure and infection risk. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate infection control protocols have to be followed by healthcare professionals and patients to minimise the spreading of COVID-19. We foresee the importance of continuously updating the national dental guidelines, considering the evolution of the pandemic and new scientific evidence becoming available