Background:

due to the characteristics of SARSCoV-2 infection, the oral cavity is a high risk environment for cross-infection between patients and dentists.

Objective:

to gather scientific evidence on whether the oral cavity is a source of SARSCoV-2 transmission.

Methods:

a review was performed in PubMed / Medline and Cochrane using indexing terms, to obtain information if the oral cavity is a source of SARSCoV-2 transmission.

Results:

due to close contact with the patient's mouth and nose, the drops and aerosols produced in the oral treatment expose the dentist to becoming infected with SARSCoV-2. Analyzing the bibliographic information, we find evidence that SARSCoV-2 binds initially to the angiotensin II converting enzyme found in the oral mucosa, tongue and salivary glands, and then only recently colonized the respiratory tracts; therefore, the oral cavity can be considered as a source of contagion and saliva can also be used to perform the molecular analysis of SARSCoV-2.

Conclusions:

the collected scientific evidence suggests that the oral cavity may act as a source of SARSCoV-2 transmission, thanks to the presence in the mouth of the angiotensin II converting enzyme that acts as a receptor for SARSCoV-2 and converts this cavity into a source of transmission.

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