Dental Emergencies During COVID-19 Pandemic: Are we providing treatment to the patients ethically and morally?

Abstract

Abstract:

Like many other disciplines in the health sector, COVID-19 has mainly affected those disciplines where close contact is required such as dental practice. Given the nature of the pandemic disease, it is very challenging to treat any patient suffering from dental disease due to the close contact required to provide dental treatment. Yet, a myriad of dental emergencies might visit the dentists due to the severe pain originated as a result of the underlying disease. This severe pain pushes patients with dental disease to seek endodontic emergency departments to get treatment for severe pain. However, given the nature of the contagious disease and associated control measures to break the chain of transmission, it might be challenging for the dentists to provide accurate and effective care by following the best ethical and moral practices. In this opinion article, we provide an overview of why dentists might not provide care to the patients under the moral and ethical principles of patient care and what are the challenges that can be faced by dentists in treating the patients with severe dental emergencies. There is also a scarcity of research on understanding this phenomenon of providing ethical and moral treatment to the patients coming to the emergency department with severe pain or other severe dental problems. Thus further research is needed to explore how the care of patients with dental problems is compromised in the emergency department and what should be the steps taken to provide them treatment  guided by equity, ethics, and morality.