Re-establishing New Normality as We Return to Orthodontic Office

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the SARS-Cov2 virus. It emerged as a global pandemic early in 2020, affecting more than 200 countries and territories. The infection is highly contagious, spreads through person-to-person contact, via aerosol and droplets. The practice of social distancing - maintaining a distance of 1 - 2 meters or 6 feet -- between people has been widely recommended to slow or halt the spread. This places dentists at high risk of acquiring and transmitting the infection. The objective of this article is to reinforce infection control and prevent cross-transmission among orthodontic clinic and precautions to be taken for the treatment of orthodontic patients in a post-lockdown era, until at-home or in-office testing, vaccines, or successful treatments for COVID-19 shall be available.