Is Going to the Dentist During the COVID-19 Pandemic Safe?

Share:

The COVID-19 pandemic flipped everything on its head. Many people only made one grocery trip a week for months and went nowhere else. As the U.S. begins to slowly reopen, it’s hard to know what is safe to do now. There can be fear around going places like the doctor or dentist again.

When to Go Back to the Dentist During A Pandemic

You can’t put a dentist appointment off for too long without consequences. Even a regular cleaning can become urgent if you wait. Right now, we’re not able to use our Cavitron unit to remove plaque and calculus build up. We can only do a hand scale, so if you wait too long to see the dentist this build up will be very difficult to remove by hand for your hygienist and dentist. It is important to keep up with your regular dental cleaning to provide the ultimate dental health for yourself.

Now is the best time to make a dentist appointment. We discovered that the majority of our patients are staying home in place and are in very little contact with others. With this in mind and the following precautions we’re taking, we consider a dentist visit to be essential and safe.

The Safety Precautions Weiss Dentistry is Taking

Everyone wants to feel safe and protected during this pandemic. Although social distancing is not possible, we implemented infection control procedures that aide in keeping you, the dentist, hygienist and assistant safe. We have been seeing patients for over a month and it has gone very well. Our patients report that they are pleased with all the extra measures that we have taken and they are very comfortable getting back to the dentist.

Our patient’s safety and health is our top priority in our practice so we are following all recommendations from the CDC, ADA and OSHA. One of the procedures we implemented includes scheduling patients further apart to allow for social distancing. We also installed air purifiers, sneeze guards, and mandatory PPE for all staff. These are just some of the many precautions we are taking at Weiss Dentistry.

Precautions to Take at Your Next Dentist Visit

When you set up your appointment at Weiss Dentistry, you’ll receive a survey via email. Please fill that out for us as soon as you can. The morning of your appointment, take your temperature. Once you arrive, give us a call and we’ll let you know when to come in. Then, when you come in, have your insurance card, form of payment and paperwork out.

If you can, enter the dentist office alone. Only patients who need a guardian or aide are able to bring one person in with them. You will, of course, need to wear a mask at all times in the facility until it’s time for your dental procedure. You will also want to sanitize your hands as you enter our facility. We will also take your temperature with a contactless thermometer just to be safe.

Our Goal is Your Safety and Health

This may seem like a lot of precautions, but we want to be sure our patients and staff feel safe during this difficult time. Although we believe dentistry is essential, we also want to be responsible in this pandemic. There’s no such thing as being too careful when it comes to your health and safety.