Coronavirus Disease-2019 Outbreak – An Unceasing Illness and its Impact in Dentistry

Abstract The outbreak of novel SARS-CoV-2 has produced major public health issues and engulfed the entire world community. A zoonotic infection was discovered to have spread from animals such as bats and pangolians to humans. The incidence of disease was first reported in Wuhan city, China in the month of December 2019 and rapidly spread across other countries. Due to the manner in which this sickness spread within communities, the outbreak continued to worsen despite extensive international efforts aimed at containing it. It was discovered that among medical personnel, transmission was high who come in direct contact with aerosol/saliva droplets and blood products. Dentistry is one such field where the highest amount of aerosol production happens and dental professionals are at continuous exposure to these droplets during their practice. Therefore, in addition to providing care, dental practitioners must take proactive measures to stop the spread of infection. This review paper briefly describes the origin, characteristics, routes of transmission, relevance in dentistry, and precautions to be taken in dental practice.