PEOPLE ASKED TO KEEP DENTAL APPOINTMENTS TO EMERGENCIES ONLY

IN last week’s address to the nation, while discussing new measures being imposed by the government to combat the spread of Covid-19, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar specifically mentioned that people would still be able to attend dental appointments. This has been a bit of a sore point for dentists across the country.

They feel that the Taoiseach should have been clearer that members of the public should only attend their local dental surgery in cases of emergency. One County Wexford dentist, who works at practices around the county, is keen to stress that measures need to be taken to protect both staff and patients from Covid-19.

‘For example, at one of the practices I work at, we’re taking appointments one at a time and only emergency work. When a patient comes in, there’ll be nobody else there. They’ll follow hand-washing procedures, put on gloves and we’ll perform minimal treatment just to get them out of pain for the next few weeks.

‘Given the proximity we’re operating in, if I got infected, I could pass it onto you and you could bring it home. In terms of personal protective equipment, the bog standard stuff we normally wear is just not good enough against this type of virus. I did a bit of research myself and managed to purchase a type of mask that’s not disposable, but it’s essentially a gas mask.’

Another major source of frustration for those in the dental profession was the attitude taken by the Chief Dental Officer of the Department of Health, who advised that there was ‘no need for a change in practice’.

‘We just couldn’t believe the attitude taken by the Chief Dental Officer,’ said the local dentist. ‘I mean, we all have families to go home to too. Currently, you could have a situation where you’re bringing this home and passing it on to an elderly grandparent or something like that, all for the sake of a filling that wasn’t urgent.’

The majority of dentists seem to have disregarded the advice of the Chief Dental Officer and are trying to get the message across to the public that they will be only dealing with emergency cases.

‘If you have a bad toothache and you’re stuck at home, obviously that’s not a good situation to be in,’ he said. ‘If left untreated, you can get swelling and it could eventually obstruct your airwaves and result in you having to present at your GP or the hospital. These places are already under tremendous pressure. So if we can treat these things before it gets to that point all the better. The last thing we need is somebody turning up at A&E as a result of an abscess that we could’ve treated much earlier.’

Dentists are appealing to the government and the HSE to be given access to more robust protective equipment, but the most important point they are looking to stress is that people should only contact their dental surgeries in emergencies.

‘Obviously we’re talking ourselves out of business by saying this, but the bigger picture is public health and beating this thing,’ said the dentist. ‘The sooner this is over, the sooner we can get back to normal and everyone has their part to play. We have to play ours.’