Non-emergency dental procedures such as alveoloplasty, incision and excision of gums, and the removal or restoration of teeth are mostly elective and will substantially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in the US, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Eric Chapman, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Healthcare providers performing dental procedures are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 from patients due to face-to-face contact and from intermittent exposure to saliva and blood. Microbes can be spread in dental surroundings from contaminated aerosols that remain in the air for long durations from infected patients that cough, speak without a mask, and have contact with surfaces.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDI World Dental Organization recommend that oral health professionals protect themselves by wearing surgical masks, gloves, protective eyewear, and outerwear. As the number of new COVID-19 cases in the US begins to peak, the American Dental Association has released guidelines and resources for dentists who are planning to resume procedures.

Chapman concludes: “Since the number of dental procedures will be severely reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, related industries and businesses are expected to lose significant revenues in 2020. GlobalData assumes that it will take six months to one year for the number of dental procedures to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. Patients experiencing chronic pain will be prioritized once procedures have resumed”.