Sir, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the consent processes amid the current pandemic. As one of the primary care oral surgery service providers within the region, we swiftly updated our consent process for all outpatient oral surgical procedures under local anaesthesia with or without conscious sedation. The current consent process includes the 'material risk' of becoming infected with coronavirus as patients attend for treatment and possible effects on post-operative recovery. We are confident that the risk of contracting COVID-19 while attending a surgical appointment is significantly reduced by patient risk assessment, the use of personal protective equipment, meticulous infection prevention and control measures, and strict adherence to the relevant standard operating procedure. We still could not neglect the COVID-19 risk, albeit negligible. We are obliged to inform the patients about the risk of 'COVID-19 complications' based on the Montgomery ruling.

We therefore added 'COVID-19 complications' as one of the risks in our consent form. This has also given us the opportunity to re-audit our consent process within primary care oral surgery service amid the pandemic. To date, all patients assessed and treated were not averse to being informed of the possible risk of 'COVID-19 complications'; in fact, some expressed their gratitude.