Dear Editor,
This letter addresses the role to be played by the dental professionals working in private and public sector in the awake of the second wave of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) in India. As per the economic survey 2019–2020, doctor population ratio is 1:1456 is against the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 1; 1000.[1] The above statistics indicating shortage of medical doctors and this has paramount importance during pandemic outbreak.[1] The key players of the COVID-19 catastrophe are faculties of medical, surgical and super specialties giving patient care and treatment algorithms. The passing out undergraduates of dental profession in India are surplus and a situation of high unemployment and wasting of dental manpower is anticipating.[2] Dental professionals should be vibrant to take other duties such as administrative and tracking team in war room (control room), orientation lectures regarding infection control protocol, supervision and operation of COVID-19 swab duty and vaccination facility. The competence of oral and maxillofacial surgeons should be utilized for emergency airway management, catheterization, and surgical management of mucurmycosis occurring in post-COVID-19 patients. The expertise of oral and maxillofacial pathologists should be utilized for cytological and histopathologic diagnosis of mucurmycosis presenting in oral cavity. The early intraoral diagnosis of post-COVID-19 mucurmycosis may be monitored by dental professionals presenting as mobility of teeth, dental pain, intraoral draining sinuses, and palatal ulceration.[3] The usual dental procedures may cut short to emergency lifesaving dental procedures with the second wave of COVID-19. Therefore, the dental faculties may work as second-line warriors with the essential facilities, equipment, or personnel for a total team along with medical and surgical disciplines to curb this second wave of COVID-19.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
- 1.Goel S. The doctor-population ratio in India is 1:1456 against WHO recommendation. Deccan Herald. 2020. [Last accessed on 2021 May 22]. Available from:https://www.deccanherald.com/business/budget-2020/the-doctor-population-ratio-in-india-is-11456-against-who-recommendation-800034.html .
- 2.Yadav PK. Unemployed Dentists Demand Govt. Jobs. ICN WORLD. 2018. [Last accessed on 2021 May 22]. Available from:https://www.icnnational.com/unemployed-dentists-demand-govt-jobs/
- 3.Rajendra Santosh AB, Muddana K, Bakki SR. Fungal infections of oral cavity:Diagnosis, management, and association with COVID-19. SN Compr Clin Med. 2021:1–12. doi: 10.1007/s42399-021-00873-9. doi:10.1007/s42399-021-00873-9. Online ahead of print. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]