November 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate impact on dentistry in 2020. Since the beginning of the public health crisis, European governments introduced a range of containment measures, including local and national lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, quarantines, curfews and travel restrictions. Across Europe, the provision of oral care was significantly curtailed as most dentists were advised or mandated to provide emergency dental treatments only.

The recent rise of cases across Europe and the increasing evidence of the safety of providing dental care motivates the Council of European Dentists (CED) to recommend a continuity of dental care services provision during the pandemic.

Despite the new circumstances created by COVID-19, evidence shows that dentistry remains safe for dental patients, members of the dental team and dentists themselves. Effective personal protective equipment is applied to protect both the dental personnel and the patient, and appropriate protocols are followed.

Patient safety is one of the foremost objectives of the profession and while ensuring that the dental team is complying with both existing and new guidelines, the lack of clear recommendations and scientific data related to dentistry could be hindering the oral and general health of all Europeans. Oral care, including not only urgent and essential dental treatment but also preventive and conservative care should be considered as essential healthcare and should not be postponed until the COVID-19 pandemic is resolved.

The CED President, Dr. Marco Landi: “European Dentists have always been committed to providing up-to-date, safe, high quality oral care, as well as minimizing risks related to oral care. Since the beginning of the pandemic, dentists have been in the front line, alongside other healthcare professionals, providing safe treatment, while staying committed to their patients’ wellbeing, and should continue providing usual responsible care despite the circumstances”.

The Council of European Dentists (CED) is a European not-for-profit association representing over 340,000 dental practitioners across Europe through 33 national dental associations and chambers in 31 European countries. Established in 1961 to advise the European Commission on matters relating to the dental profession, the CED aims to promote high standards on oral healthcare and dentistry with effective patient-safety centred professional practice, and to contribute to safeguarding the protection of public health. The CED is registered in the Transparency Register with the ID number 4885579968-84.