Back to normal

Local dentist shares story of COVID-19 struggles

While addressing the Malvern Rotary Club Wednesday, local dentist Dr. Matt Teale explained how his team has tackled the safety precautions and emotional aspects of COVID-19.

He said that many of the safety precautions the staff have were already in place prior to the pandemic.

“We’re fortunately in the industry, we didn’t have to change a whole lot,” he said adding that many of the safety precautions they do are because of tuberculosis and HIV. “Sterilization, facial control, masks, gloves, all of the stuff people are having to adopt and have are standard stuff for us.”

Under guidelines from state and national leaders and organizations, the employees at Teale Dentistry also put into place additional steps to protect against cross contamination between patients.

Patients are screened prior to their appointments. When they arrive, they wait in a virtual waiting room. Once inside the building, patients are required to wear mask. They also have their temperature checked and use hand sanitizer.

Prior to their procedure, patients rinse their mouths with hydrogen peroxide and at the end of their appointment, they use a different door to exit to limit contact with other patients.

“Patients have been very receptive,” Teale said.

Along with these changes, Teale said employees are also taking into account the emotional aspects surrounding COVID-19.

He mentioned that some patients are not scared and don’t want to change things while others are very concerned about the virus.

“We see both ends of that spectrum on a daily basis. We just try to approach it with a professional respect,” he said.

Teale mentioned that staff have also had challenges finding personal protective equipment as the demand has increased.

In March, state leaders recommended a suspension of all non-emergency dental care. At that time, Teale and his wife and fellow dentist Jessi Teale made the difficult decision to furlough their employees.

“That’s probably the hardest decision, as business owners, we’ve ever had,” he said.

Fortunately, they have been able to hire everyone back and have even experienced some growth.

“Malvern has been very good to our practice. We’re fortunate that we have a really good team and we continue to grow,” he said.