Is the Dentist a Safe Place to Visit During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

One of the most important questions you may be asking yourself right now is whether it is safe for you to visit the dentist during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether you were due for a checkup that was cancelled because of the virus or you have started to experience some tooth pain, we want you to know that Access Dental Care is here for you.

To answer your question, it IS safe to visit the dentist. In fact, no one has caught the virus in our office, and we are proud to say that there have been no known transmission of the coronavirus in a dental office. Many dentists reopened their doors to patients during the pandemic and because of that, it is likely that many dentists came into contact with the virus unknowingly. With that in mind, the Lancet, reports that there have been NO clusters of any airborne viruses transmitted in any dental offices around the world to date. How incredible is that?

This means that you do not have to worry about easily catching the virus in a dental office. Dentists take many infection control precautions, and this lends to why there have been no infections in any dental offices. Here at Access Dental Care, we take your health seriously and we have implemented additional steps to protect you while you are in our office. Check them out below:

• Plexiglass has been installed in areas to limit contact
• We have limited how many patients come in at a time
• If any staff or patient has any COVID-19 symptoms, they are not allowed in the office
• We have temperature checks in place
• We meet weekly to discuss COVID-19 and any new developments or research
• We practice social distancing and have limited the number of people in the waiting room at a time
• ALL dental staff wear protective equipment such as masks, eyewear, gloves, hair covers, disposable gowns, and face shields
• We do not allow any unnecessary individuals into the appointment

If you need dental care, we want you to know that you can safely and confidently visit our office. We have taken necessary steps to protect your health and the health of our employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Picture: Freepik

Dental Procedures That Have Aerosol or Splatter
Not all dental procedures are the same and some have significant amounts of splatter, also referred to as aerosol. People who catch the coronavirus do so through droplets that enter their eyes, or they breathe in the virus. Many times, this is because they were not wearing any protective equipment such as a mask.

Aerosol is the medical term used to describe a fine spray of water. If a person has COVID-19, then the aerosol would be considered infected and if you come into contact with that infected aerosol, you can catch the virus.

Many procedures do result in an aerosol such as fillings, root canals, and similar procedures. During the dental procedure, our office uses both air and water to clean the area and this mixture helps to dilute the virus making infection to someone else unlikely if the patient had the virus.

If you need to have a procedure completed in our office that does cause aerosol, we will perform a COVID-19 test on you, free of charge. If you do not have COVID-19, then the procedure can continue. If you do, we will need to reschedule your appointment.

Call Access Dental Care Today
If you have questions about the precautions we are taking in our office or you would like to schedule an appointment with us, please call our office today!