New and Emerging Infections: Challenges and Impact on the Practice of Dentistry in Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: To highlight the challenges and impacts of COVID 19 on dental practice in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: A literature search was done using Electronic databases such as Medline, Pub Med and Google Scholar. Words that were  searched included “New and Emerging Infections, challenges and Impact on Practice of Dentistry in Nigeria”.

Results: New and emerging Infections have far reaching impacts on public health. The dental clinic is a probable environment for the airborne  transmission of these infections due to the generation of aerosols and the close contact between the health workers and patients.

Conclusion: Strict  infection control measures are mandatory in the dental clinic. This translates to prohibitive cost of treatment as most practices have to include additional  cost for things as personal protective equipment, disinfectants.