The changing perceptions of pediatric dental practice post COVID; The new normal

Abstract

‘Normal’ isn’t coming back as the world after COVID-19 is unlikely to return to the world that was. Pediatric dentists have to be ready to accept a ‘new normal’: a new kind of society, a new relationship with their patients and a new experience of their profession. The future of dentistry in the post pandemic era will be faced with many challenges, some of them potentially multiplied, such as high quality infection control and a shift of focus to minimally invasive dental care. In such a situation the question is: What will be the return-to-practice roadmap for pediatric dentists post COVID-19? The aim of this article is to answer this question by providing an overview of the structural and functional challenges that pedodontists would face when the pandemic is behind them, and what changes would be required in the approach to providing dental care to children, so as to overcome these challenges. It also provides an insight into how we can gradually achieve our goal of re-establishing normal and keep our practice running by means of effective communication and planning.