DENTISTS are not in the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccines in half of the countries covered in a global survey.
The survey was conducted by the FDI World Dental Federation, the organization for over one million dentists worldwide.
Half of the 57 countries who responded to the survey have agreed to include dentists in their priority vaccination groups.
The new global survey also reveals that two-thirds of countries are not allowing dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Ahead of World Oral Health Day on March 20, FDI will release a new set of data around the caseload of COVID-19 infection amongst dentists around the world.
Dentists are not listed among the priority groups in Cambodia, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand.
Dentists should be in the priority group, given the proximity of their work to patients and the potential risk of infection.
Some 53 percent of the countries that responded to the survey said that dentists would be included in priority vaccination groups; 12 percent said that they would not be; and 18 percent responded that the vaccination program and priority groups were still being planned.
“Oral health is a fundamental component of overall health and well-being and oral healthcare is an essential public service,” said Dr. Gerhard Konrad Seeberger, president of FDI World Dental Federation whose membership includes 200 national dental associations and specialist groups in over 130 countries.
On the other hand, dentists are allowed to administer COVID-19 vaccines in Cambodia, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Serbia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
However, nearly two-thirds of 57 countries covered by the survey had not granted permission for dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines as part of national vaccinations.
In Europe, dentists are not permitted to administer COVID-19 vaccines in Switzerland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia and Russia.
In France, the National Order of Dental Surgeons has called on the government to grant permission to the profession, but no authorization has been given to date. Similar discussions are ongoing in Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, Kenya, Hong Kong and Germany.
In the United States around 20 states permit dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
“Efforts should be made to enable dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines when possible within national legislation and regulations, and with minimal disruption to oral healthcare services,” Dr. Seeberger said.
The FDI World Dental Federation has called for more countries to enable dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines after a survey of its members revealed the small number of countries currently permit dentists to do so.
The survey was facilitated by FDI’s COVID-19 Task Team./PN
