Dental News - COVID-19: FEPPD provides advice for dental technicians and laboratory owners

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 30. March 2020

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BRUSSELS, Belgium: At this point, cases of COVID-19 have been found in every European country and territory. Against this backdrop, the European and International Federation of Dental Laboratory Owners and Dental Technicians (FEPPD) has issued guidance for Europe-based dental practitioners, cautioning them to make infection control an absolute priority in their day-to-day work.

The FEPPD was founded in 1953 and represents 40,000 dental laboratories and 210,000 dental technicians across Europe. It recently cancelled its annual general meeting, which had been scheduled for May in Croatia, when the lasting influence that the COVID-19 pandemic would have throughout Europe and beyond became apparent. Now, the FEPPD’s secretary general, Pierre Zammit, has written to the organisation’s members about the risks presented by handling dental impressions and other dental devices.

Although cross-infection procedures were expected to have been in place before the SARS-CoV-2 virus reached the European continent, Zammit stressed that best practices among dental clinics and dental laboratories should now be particularly meticulously observed in order to ensure the highest levels of disinfection.

“Safety is paramount for the well-being of all practitioners and their loved ones,” he continued, emphasising the extreme danger posed by the fast transmission of the virus and the severe health implications for anyone infected by it. He added that it was in the interests of all stakeholders in the dental industry to avoid infection incidents involving third parties. The result of the precautions taken now would be that, at the end of the COVID-19 saga, dental patients would be able to continue to return for their services with confidence, he stated.

“Common sense in dealing with the present situation, a total back-to-basics approach, plus a commitment by one and all to the correct civil behaviour” would enable FEPPD members to see the light at the end of the tunnel, concluded Zammit.

As of March 29, there were 638,146 confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the world and 30,039 associated deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

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