Bengaluru: Considering dental treatment procedures posing a high cross infection threat amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Karnataka government has asked patients to defer all routine and elective dental treatment, an official said on Tuesday.

“In the current COVID-19 pandemic, dentists, auxiliaries as well as patients undergoing dental procedures are at high risk of cross-infection,” said a health official.

Most dental procedures require close contact with a patient’s oral cavity, saliva, blood, and respiratory tract secretions.

“Saliva is rich in COVID viral load. It is suggested that all patients visiting a dental clinic must be treated with due precautions –all routine and elective dental procedures should be deferred for a later review until new guidelines are issued,” he said.

As dental clinics in the containment zones are shut, dentists in such places can continue to provide tele-triage while patients can avail ambulance services to travel to a nearby clinic.

The health department has sounded caution for people involved in oral cancer screening under the National Cancer Screening Program as high risk is associated with examining the oral cavity.

Categorizing dental conditions that require priority care but do not increase a patient’s death as an Urgent Dental Procedure, the health department directed that such treatments should be taken up only after teleconsultation, tele-triage, and advance appointments.

However, dental conditions that can increase a patient’s death risk have been categorized as an emergency.

The health department has also issued other guidelines for dental clinics on readiness, including ventilation and air quality management in standalone dental clinics among others.