Julian Perry, along with other authorities in dentistry, has produced advisory guidelines on how dental practices can start opening their doors again after the COVID-19 lockdown ends.

In these difficult times there is lack of guidance on what we should be doing as dentists to keep our teams, ourselves and our patients safe.

I have collaborated with a number of colleagues in the UK, in public health, in Europe and America. We have produced ‘advisory guidelines’ for colleagues.

We are not an authority in the management of COVID-19, and do not set out to be so. This is a collection of suggestions from educated dentists and medical authorities who have given their advice. The advice may change should we get clearer direction from the NHS.

We must not be complacent. However, we should remember that approximately 80% of the population have only mild symptoms and do not end up in hospital on a ventilator with COVID-19. The media would have us believe the opposite.