Feasibility of COVID-19 oral health care guidelines in day to day practice: Our experience in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract
The COVID-19 has spread throughout the world since December 2019 and brought the delivery of the oral health facilities to a standstill. Customization of oral health care guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic at the dental division of a tertiary health care setup in India. Existing literature was searched regarding any available information regarding oral health care guidelines at the tertiary health care set up. Further, various health regulatory authorities' websites were searched for guidelines related to COVID-19 and patient management and infection control. Adhering to the health regulatory protocols for COVID-19, a total of 24548 patients were provided with dental consultations and various dental procedures, including teeth extraction, orthodontic interventions, teeth restoration, root canal treatment, and oral prophylaxis, major and minor oro-maxillofacial surgeries from April 1, 2020, to August 31, 2021. Emphasis was on providing a safe working environment to the oral health care team and the patient. None of the members of the dental health team became positive for COVID-19 during the study. On the basis of our experience, we highlight that it is very much possible to efficiently and effectively treat the patients which oral health care during and post-COVID-19 pandemic. Frequent change in the guidelines regarding COVID-19 infection by various authorities, so keeping an eye on the same is also advised because various aspects of COVID-19 infection are yet to be confirmed and brought to the light. In our setup, patient satisfaction was good among the treated patient, and they applauded the efforts put by our team.