A dental patient has tested positive for tuberculosis (active TB). What should the dental office do?

Active pulmonary tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease. Elective dental treatment should be deferred until the patient has been deemed non-infectious by their physician (typically after 2–3 weeks of effective anti-TB therapy with sputum conversion to acid-fast bacilli negative). The dental office should refer the patient for medical management. If emergency dental care is required for an active TB patient, it should be performed in a negative-pressure isolation room using N95 respirators, full PPE, and with minimal aerosol generation. All staff potentially exposed should be screened. Standard surgical masks are insufficient protection against airborne TB transmission.