The close proximity nature of dental work can heighten concern during infectious disease incidents; however the current public health assessment does not indicate any additional risk to dental teams beyond that already mitigated by routine IPC measures.
Dental teams should continue to follow standard IPC measures, including their usual PPE ensemble for routine care.
Higher level PPE, such as FFP3 respirators, is only required for aerosol generating procedures when a patient is suspected of having invasive meningococcal disease. In such circumstances, the patient would require urgent medical care and would not be managed in a dental setting.
We will keep you up to date on any developments in this area.
England: No change in IPC guidance following invasive meningococcal disease outbreak
National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance has not changed following the outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease linked to the Kent and Canterbury area.