What are dental offices doing to protect patients and staff from COVID-19?
Even
before the pandemic, dental offices were required to maintain pretty strict
hygiene practices. Charles
Sutera, DMD, FAGD, cosmetic dentist and founder of Aesthetic Smile
Reconstruction, tells Health. He explains that all dental practices
already follow OSHA standards
for cleaning and sanitizing everything with EPA-approved
disinfectants specially designed for use in a healthcare setting to
kill viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Additionally, it has long been
standard protocol for an entire dental care team to wear protective gear,
including gloves, surgical masks, and goggles for eye protection to minimize
the risk of transmitting germs from one patient to another. “These standards
are in practice every day, regardless of whether there’s a known outbreak of an
infectious disease,” he says.
Now, due
to COVID-19, there are additional safety precautions in place, many of them
recommended by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the American
Dental Association. “When open during the COVID-19 pandemic, we
enforce social distancing between all individuals in the office—patients and
staff—when not wearing personal protective equipment, and routinely disinfect
common surfaces in lobbies or waiting rooms, including doorknobs, countertops,
and pens,” says Dr. Sutera.
When more
people eventually start coming in for dental procedures, Dr. Sutera says that
many offices—including his own—will start staggering appointments with more
time allotted for each patient in order to reduce the number of people in the
office at any given time. “Chairs will be placed six feet apart in the waiting
room," he says, and "depending on the facility design, you may be
asked to wait in your car, or you may be taken immediately back to a private
room upon arrival." And if you want reading material, you may have to
bring your own. "The usual magazines, toys, etc in waiting rooms will be
removed," says Dr. Sutera. "In their place you will find tissues,
hand sanitizer, and extra trashcans."
Staff
will also take many extra precautions, including having illness screenings and
daily temperature checks, and being required to change from their street
clothes and shoes to scrubs (or vice-versa) before entering or exiting the
practice. Dentists, hygienists, and assistants will also wear "more robust
[PPE] equipment for higher-risk procedures that create more aerosols,"
says Dr. Sutera. "Personally, I am wearing a hairnet, double mask, shield
over the mask, and long sleeve shirts and pants, which I'm changing in between
every patient, as well as shoe covers," he adds.
And
screening won’t be limited to staff. Due to the fact that dental workers are
more at risk of infection than patients, it is important to make sure that
anyone getting treatment is infection-free. Dr. Dorfman explains that patients
should expect to fill out a questionnaire the day before they come in and also
when they arrive at the office. Dr. Sutera says to expect questions covering
possible symptoms, recent travel, and any caregiver responsibilities for those
who are ill. Expect to have your temperature taken and possibly a pulse
oximeter reading done as well, says Dr. Sutera.
Finally,
the dental procedure itself may look a little different: "We are also
using what’s called an extra oral," says Dr. Dorfman, who explains it's a
machine used outside of the mouth. "It is a high powered suction unit that
picks up all the aerosol in the air from when we use a drill,” he adds. You
might also be asked to swish with 1% hydrogen peroxide prior to treatment, “to
reduce any pathogens in the saliva,” adds Dr. Sutera.
So, when should you schedule your next dental
appointment?
First and
foremost, if you're experiencing any type of dental emergency—swelling,
uncontrolled bleeding, pain, trauma from an accident, or if you have a dental
concern related to an underlying condition (chemotherapy, uncontrolled diabetes,
etc.)—it's important to see your dentist as soon as possible since, again, many
offices are still open for emergency procedures and visits.
If you're
in need of a cleaning, but your state's dental offices are still closed to any
non-essential procedures, you'll have to wait until they open back up. But if
your state has started to allow elective procedures, you have to think about
your own comfort level in going to the dentist. You can also feel free to call
up your local dental practice and ask what they'd recommend, depending on the
level of the COVID-19 outbreak in your area.
In the
meantime, and again, as long as you're not currently facing a dental emergency,
remember to keep your teeth and mouth healthy by brushing your teeth and
flossing twice a day (yes, even in quarantine).
The
information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the
situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some
data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories
as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news
and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO,
and their local public health department as resources.
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