COVID alert in pediatric dentistry

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has taken the form of a pandemic that is threatening the public health and economies across the world. Statistics from various studies initially provided relief due to the lower incidence of COVID-19 occurrence in children. However, this respite was short lived as recent studies suggest that the children tend to be mostly asymptomatic, therefore, raising the possibility of lower testing and subsequent lower detection of cases. Certain articles have even termed the children “silent killers” by accusing them of secretly transmitting the SARS-CoV-2 infection without anybody suspecting them. This particular point tends to be scary, especially for the pediatric dentists because of their proximity to children during treatment which may unknowingly place them at a greater risk of viral exposure if the concerned child is asymptomatic. This review article will try to find answers to why are children shielded from the symptoms and severity of this pandemic and will also provide the pediatric dentists with information to spot the “red flags” as soon as possible.