Considerations for Necessary Oral Mucosal Procedures
From a health care professional exposure perspective oral based examinations and procedures are of great concern. Per the CDC, “potential routes of close-range transmission include splashes and sprays of infectious material onto mucous membranes and inhalation of infectious virions exhaled by an infected person. The relative contribution of each of these is not known for SARS-Co-V-2 ”.13 Furthermore, there is mounting evidence that SARS-CoV-2 may be transmitted through fomites and contact.14 An oral health professionals points of contact during a patient interaction could be both direct and indirect, including but not limited to the following: 1) contact with human fluids, 2) contaminated surfaces and instrumentation, and 3) patient materials.14 While strict hygiene measures are able to significantly reduce the risk of exposure from indirect routes, due to the contact with oral mucosal surfaces in the assessment of an OPMD and need to violate oral mucosal surfaces should an incisional or excisional biopsy become necessary, one must incorporate added protective measures to ensure the safety of the entire healthcare team. Below is a summary of such measures: