Across Europe, dentists are contributing to the efforts to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while still providing safe and high-quality treatment to their patients, in line with relevant national and local regulations. 

With a growing number of Member States restricting provision of dental care to medical emergencies, dentists are struggling to fulfill their obligations to care for their patients and at the same time prevent the transmission of the virus. As dental treatments create conditions that are particularly conducive to transmission, this requires complying with existing and new infection control protocols aimed at protecting dental patients, members of the dental team and dentists themselves, including by using appropriate protective equipment which in many countries is in increasingly short supply. Where this is allowed by national regulation, dentists support the remaining parts of the health systems, particularly hospital emergency services, by treating urgent oral health cases who would otherwise seek help in the already overburdened hospitals. 

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