Dental hygienists unable to resume full duties

EDMONTON Alberta dentists who want to offer a full range of procedures at the beginning of phase one of the province’s COVID-19 relaunch will have to do so without dental hygienists.

The governing bodies representing dental hygienists and dentists are giving their members different instructions about what procedures they can perform as businesses start to open up at full strength Thursday.

Dental offices have been able to perform emergency services throughout the pandemic. As of May 4, they were able to offer some additional “urgent” procedures such as treatment for broken teeth or soft tissue damage.

As of Thursday, dentists can offer a full provision of services, including non-essential care, as long as they follow guidelines released by the Alberta Dental Association and College on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the College of Registered Dental Hygienists of Alberta (CRDHA) is preparing to have instructions regarding non-essential services ready for its members Friday so that hygienists can start working on non-essential procedures starting May 19.

Even then, hygienists will only be able to work on non-aerosol-generating procedures similar to the limits that are already in place for urgent and emergency procedures, said Amie Dowell, registrar and CEO of the CRDHA. For example, hygienists will be allowed to scrape calculus buildup off teeth with hand tools but not ultrasonic machines, she said.

“They both remove the calculus from the teeth ( but) just one of them creates a lot of aerosols and one of them doesn’t,” Dowell said Tuesday. “We’re making that distinction for now, knowing that the guidelines will continue to evolve.”

Aerosols can sometimes be generated during procedures such as cleanings, extractions and cavity preparations.

They consist of water, saliva, blood, debris and micro-organisms suspended in the air, and can transmit diseases.

Aerosol-generating procedures are considered the highest risk for COVID-19 transmission and the college is waiting for better research before it expands the list of what hygienists can perform, Dowell said.

For those moderate or high-risk procedures, dentists are to wear an N95 or equivalent fitted respirator, appropriate protective eyewear and masks, gowns and gloves, the dentists’ instructions say .