Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 4

Your COVID-19 Questions Answered Inmid-May, Dr. Aaron Burry, leader of the CDACOVID-19 Response Team, public health specialist and associate director of professional affairs at CDA, answered some questions from dentists as the profession begins the gradual reduction of pandemic-related restrictions to dental practise. Q Why isn't pre-screening of patients for COVID-19 infection adequate to allow dentists to proceed with care, under well-controlled limits of aerosolization? Dr. Aaron Burry (AB): The complicating factor for pre‑screening is our lack of science related to individuals who are COVID-19 positive but are presymptomatic or asymptomatic. There is no way to effectively pre-screen for patients who don’t know they are infected and show no symptoms, yet are contagious. I can tell you from personal experience that someone can appear to be healthy, is seen for emergency dental care, but then calls or comes back a few days later and says, “Sorry, but I just tested positive for COVID-19.” During a time when we are limiting practise to urgent and emergency care, using social distancing and other measures to control the spread of the virus is paramount. Right now infection rates are low and falling in many parts of Canada. These factors lower the relative risks when it comes to aerosols. Still, we haven’t had experience with a virus that is so contagious and mortally dangerous to some people. We're still in the midst of developing knowledge on this virus and its properties. Q What is the latest on COVID-19 testing? Would testing help dental practices in triaging patients? AB: Would it help? Absolutely. It would help, if it were readily available and reliable. If you follow the news, you’ll likely know that there are a few different kinds of COVID-19 tests out there. A typical test, which many public health units use, is where a swab is taken and sent to a centralized lab to be processed in 24 to 48 hours. These tests are highly reliable because they are performed by trained professionals under strict protocols. A lot of people are interested in point-of-care rapid tests. These allow you take a swab, insert it into a machine that's located on site and it will give you a result in 1 hour. However, these point-of-care rapid tests are not actually “approved,” but rather companies have been permitted to bring them into the market on an emergency basis in light of the pandemic. Some tests had to be withdrawn or temporary suspended because of problems with false positives or false negatives, or other problems. It’s the false negatives that are really concerning. In most circumstances, a medical test that has false negatives won’t be approved for use. Dr. Aaron Burry We haven’t had experience with a virus that is so contagious and mortally dangerous to some people. 14 | 2020 | Issue 4 CDA at W ork