Orofacial pain associated with the use of personal protective equipment by healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: an integrative review

Abstract

The increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a greater demand for healthcare professionals and required an extension of working hours in these locations. To protect workers, biosafety protocols with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) were established. However, the continuous use of this equipment has started to bring adverse effects, primarily affecting the orofacial complex. The aim of this study is to conduct an integrative literature review on the increase in orofacial pain associated with the use of PPE by healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the descriptors "headaches," "COVID-19," and "personal protective equipment" in the PubMed database, in the last 5 years, it was possible to find 92 articles, of which 13 articles were selected after careful review of titles and abstracts. All analyzed articles pointed to an association between the increase in orofacial pain and the use of individual equipment during the pandemic. Based on this, we can infer that PPE was essential for the protection of healthcare professionals and effective in reducing virus transmission, serving as indispensable tools during the pandemic. However, prolonged use by healthcare professionals was associated with orofacial pain.