The Changes of Practices and Physical Facilities in Dental Clinic, Faculty of Dentistry during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Abstract

The conventional physical characteristics of dental clinics were not designed to support the   current situation of the corona virus 2019 pandemic. So, there has been changed the physical space and management. Due to the changing dental clinic physical space, no data was collected and studied.  Therefore, the purpose of this research is to study the changing physical and management characteristics of the dental clinic. This research aims at finding facts related to the modification of space and physical management of dental clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn university, Chiang Mai university and Thammasat university to support the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 or other epidemic situations. Furthermore, this research is the basic information for the development of space and physical management of the dental clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry in the future. Research methodology includes literature reviews, construction document collection, interviews and on-site visits, data synthesis analysis and research conclusions.

The results of the research can be concluded that the modification of dental clinics for the   Faculty of Dentistry is related to three disciplines: Dentistry, Engineering and Architecture. Dental data correlates with the design of engineering systems. For example, aerosol diffusion in each procedure is calculated differently for ventilation. Then engineering data related to architectural design such as the design of the dimension on the ceiling and the height of the raised floor to install engineering systems. And dental work related to architectural design such as the design of space division in the clinic to reduce the diffusion of aerosols. Therefore, the design and management of dental clinic has considered with these relationships and conditions such as budget, safety and management. Considering these issues will most effectively support corona virus 2019 pandemic with limited resources. In the future, the dental clinic has no plans to demolish. The dentists interviewed suggest that the changes to prevent the      pandemic increases the level of dental clinic safety standards better. Therefore, this trend has to consider the budget and future maintenance methods. In addition, the design guidelines for new dental clinics in the future may change from before corona virus 2019.