Urgent alert – Australian Health Protection Principal Committee advice

28 Mar 2020

On March 27, The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) released new advice to dental practitioners about managing COVID-19.

What does the recent announcement mean for me?

Their advice reads: "AHPPC recommends adopting the ‘Managing COVID-19 Guidelines’ by the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and implementing a triage system for dental practice. AHPPC recommends that all dental practices implement level 3 restrictions as outlined in the ADA’s guidance. That is, dentists* [sic] should only perform dental treatments that do not generate aerosols, or where treatment generating aerosols is limited. All routine examinations and treatments should be deferred."

*This applies to all dental practitioners.

Where can I get more information?

The Board will publish more information about this shortly, but in the interim, some useful resources to help you manage COVID-19 include:

• Australian Health Protection Principal Committee statement about dental services
• Australian Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) essential information
• Australian Government Department of Health coronavirus (COVID-19) resources
• Updates from Ahpra and National Boards about COVID-19
• Dental Board of Australia's Guidelines for infection control
• Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2019)
• Australian Dental Association Managing COVID-19 Guidelines
• Australian Dental Association COVID-19 dental service restriction levels

If this information doesn’t tell you what you need to know, you can send your questions directly to Ahpra by email: COVID19@ahpra.gov.au.

Please keep abreast of these updates and respond accordingly to support ongoing access to safe dental services, including for those who are most vulnerable.
We also urge you to take care of your own health during this pandemic. These are unprecedented times, and it is important that dental practitioners look after themselves and each other.

Information about general support services is available on the Ahpra website.

Murray Thomas

Chair, Dental Board of Australia