The document provides dental clinics with suggestions on how to manage patients before, during, and after their treatment to maximise safety.

These EFP recommendations are based on the limited science available and on clinical observations, and have been co-ordinated by Filippo Graziani, EFP past president and leading Italian periodontist.

Brussels, 7 May 2020 - Oral healthcare is severely affected all over the world by the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic because of the risk implied for both dental professionals and patients. In order to provide the dental sector with a protocol to navigate the crisis effectively, the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) has published a set of infographics that provide suggestions on how dental practices can operate safely and manage patient workflow before, during, and after their treatment.

Co-ordinated by Filippo Graziani, EFP past president and chair of its European Project Committee, this safety protocol has been devised as a response to the crisis affecting the provision of oral-healthcare services around the world.

The scientific evidence related to dental management during the Covid-19 pandemic is so far merely observational, and prospectively designed interventions – to form the basis for proper evidence-based guidelines – are missing. This document is based on the limited scientific literature available and on the observations and experiences of dental clinicians. It does not conflict with any guidelines issued by local and national healthcare authorities.

“We have tried to highlight the current knowledge, basing our ideas on three different levels of strength according to the information we have on the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” explains Filippo Graziani. “For the EFP, the safety of our colleagues, co-workers, and patients worldwide is of utmost importance. Despite the relatively little knowledge that is available, we have tried to encapsulate some practical information in graphics to support the dental and periodontal world globally. Please follow your own institutions’ guidelines if any discrepancies are noted and check for changes, as knowledge on the management of the virus is changing swiftly.”

The infographics illustrate protocols for patient triage, patient management in the dental office, and treatment and post-treatment routines, as well a phone-triage questionnaire with questions to ask patients when they call the dental practice to make an appointment.

All the material is available for downloading at: http://www.efp.org/publications/covid-19.html.

“In these uncertain days, at the time when we will probably start going back to work in many countries, the EFP felt that this initiative was necessary to offer to all our members clear guidelines and also to have a global vision of the situation and the
impact of the pandemic on periodontists, dentists, and hygienists,” adds Xavier Struillou, president of the EFP.

EFP, global benchmark in periodontology
The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting awareness of periodontal science and the importance of gum health. Its guiding vision is “periodontal health for a better life.”

Founded in 1991, the EFP is a federation of 37 national periodontal societies that represents more than 16,000 periodontists, dentists, researchers and oral-health professionals from Europe and around the world. It supports evidence-based science in periodontal and oral health and it promotes events and campaigns aimed at both professionals and the public.

The EFP organises EuroPerio, the world’s leading congress in periodontology and implant dentistry, as well as other important professional and expert events such as Perio Master Clinic and Perio Workshop. The annual Gum Health Day on May 12, organised by the EFP and its member societies, brings key messages on gum health to millions of people across the world.

The EFP also organises workshops and outreach campaigns with its partners: projects to date have covered the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and caries, as well as women’s oral health during pregnancy.

The EFP’s Journal of Clinical Periodontology is the most authoritative scientific publication in this field. The federation also publishes JCP Digest, a monthly digest of research, and the quarterly Perio Insight magazine, which features experts' views and debates. The EFP’s work in education is also highly significant, notably its accreditation programme for postgraduate education in periodontology and implant dentistry.

The EFP has no professional or commercial agenda.