COVID – 19 Pandemic COVID – 19 PANDEMIC: A DENTAL PERSPECTIVE OF INFECTION PREVENTION PROTOCOLS AND QUESTIONNAIRE ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS.

The COVID 19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has become a subject of international concern due to its contagious nature and mortality rate. The lack of any definitive treatment also contributes to the severity of the disease. Identification of susceptible dental patient is the first and most important step of all preventive protocols. Categorization of the patients through a questionnaire will help the dentist to follow and modify preventive protocols accordingly. The various comorbidities which make an individual more susceptible to COVID 19 infection were identified through a thorough systematic review of literature. The questionnaire is derived from the studied literature and assigned a score. The generated aggregate of the score is used to categorize dental patient into low, medium and high risk groups. The reviewed literatures were collected from reputed online open access journals and subscribed journals. Dentists being the most vulnerable professionals during this COVID 19 pandemic should practice different preventive protocols. This is also required to limit nosocomial spread of infection through dental setup. Characteristics of the virus and the subsequent infection have also been discussed in brief in this systematic review for better understanding of the various protective protocols. Key words – COVID 19; Questionnaire; Susceptibility; Scoring; Dental patient; Prevention.