Dental care and COVID-19
The need for good oral health practices didn’t take a break for the COVID-19 pandemic.
There may be few things, however, that are different as your oral health professionals take precautions against the pandemic.
Before your appointment
The American Dental Association’s guidelines help dentists and other oral health professionals control infections both amongst their staff and their patients. And it’s working. A June 2021 study showed that monthly infection rates for dentists were as low as 0.2 percent.
To help make sure their patients are healthy, your dentist may call and ask you some questions before your appointment. These will cover your general health and possibly your vaccination status. You may also be asked to limit the number of people you bring with you to your appointment, meaning your children may have to stay at home or wait in the car. At your appointment Bring a mask to your appointment, especially if your state or local government is requiring people to wear masks in public. Some areas are only requiring it for medical practices and, in other places, each business – and your dentist’s office is a business – has their own requirements. It’s best to be prepared.
You may be asked to wait outside or in your car until the staff is ready for you, reducing the number of people in the office and the time that you’re close to other people.
You may have your temperature taken and you may be offered hand sanitizer or the opportunity to wash your hands. You may also notice staff cleaning and wiping down surfaces more than usual, and there could be more protective equipment present. Some dental instruments may be switched to disposable items that can be thrown away instead of reused.
After your appointment The staff will thoroughly clean areas to prepare for the next patient. They may start doing this while you’re still waiting to leave or check out. If you start feeling ill or test positive for COVID-19 after your appointment, call the dental office even if you’ve been vaccinated. You may have been carrying the virus when you visited, so anyone you came in contact with should be notified.