Press Statement : White Smile suspends activities during Covid-19 pandemic

White Smile has shown compliance to WHO advise that routine non-urgent oral health care – which usually includes oral health check-ups, dental cleanings and preventive care – be delayed until there has been sufficient reduction in COVID-19 transmission rates from community transmission to cluster cases or according to official recommendations at national, sub-national or local level.

However, WHO indicate that urgent or emergency oral health care interventions that are vital for preserving a person's oral functioning, managing severe pain or securing quality of life should be provided. this could be provided once adequate protective measures and protective equipment PPEs for both dental workers and patients are available and in place.

in the light of the international shortages in IPCs and PPEs. dental care in Syria is becoming unfortunately at the least of priorities for many funding institutions. White Smile has applied for many grants to secure these items and ensure emergency dentistry minimum services . but these efforts did not succeeded yet.

suspending dental practices in North West Syria during the course of the novel Corona virus pandemic may contribute to reducing infection, but will increase the suffering of individuals requiring emergency dental care.

White Smile calls on all humanitarian partners , dental associations and dental parctionners , to support its efforts in ensuring dental service continuity with minimum services in order to respond to the utmost need of more than 4.1 million people in one of the most vulnerable and deprived areas of the world.