On July 6, 2021, a member of the CDC’s Division of Oral Health team notified the AAO of a small but significant upcoming revision to the CDC’s COVID-19 Guidance for Dental Settings. (Please note that as of press time, the CDC website had not been revised to reflect this change). Previously, the guidance stated that dental healthcare personnel should avoid aerosol-generating procedures for all patients, regardless of known or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection status. The language that encompassed all patients regardless of level of risk has been removed.
CDC continues to recommend that dental healthcare personnel should continue to avoid aerosol-generating procedures for patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, if possible. Dental health care personnel should continue to practice universal precautions for all patients, even those with no symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This change to the guidance was made to align this guidance for dental settings with current CDC Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.
The updated CDC guidance was issued shortly after a group of AAO representatives met with the CDC Division of Oral Health team on June 22, 2021. The AAO representatives included Dr. Michael Durbin (AAO Trustee and Chair, AAO COVID-19 Task Force); Dr. Clark Colville (Chair, AAOPAC Board of Directors); Trey Lawrence (AAO General Counsel); Gianna Nawrocki (AAO Government Affairs Associate); and Alex Campau and Kaitlyn Martin from the AAO’s federal lobbyist firm, Cozen O’Connor. The CDC team specifically noted the success of AAO members in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in their practices and thanked the AAO and its members for their diligence. The AAO team updated CDC regarding members’ practices, as well as a number of concerns about CDC guidance that is now dated or unclear. The CDC team again thanked the AAO for its ongoing efforts to provide information and raise concerns to CDC, and stated that it would continue to have an open channel of communication with the AAO regarding COVID-19 guidance.
