COVID-19 and Dental Services

In these difficult times, things are changing daily and the information and guidance given by our federal, state, and local governments is rapidly changing also. Sometimes they agree and sometimes they do not. Many of them seem to be passing the buck, and not saying exactly what you can and cannot do. At the time this was written we can practice; however, we can only use a handpiece or create an aerosol spray if it is vitally important to the patient’s health. And the hygiene board will not allow hygienists to clean teeth for routine cleanings.
It is basically up to the individual practitioners to do what they think is in the best interests of their patients and to hold off on any work that is not vitally important to the patient’s health and well-being in long-term.
You can rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to getting back to practicing dentistry as we did before but taking every precaution to keep our patients myself and my staff as healthy as possible. Many of you will feel that what we are doing is taking too many precautions others will feel that we are not doing enough. The people I worry about the most are the ones that just will not come back to dentistry! The fear of contracting this highly contagious virus can be crippling. Everyone must decide what is in their own best interest and way out the risks and benefits of returning to dentistry. The problem is that the longer you put things off, the worse they get. I urge you if you are having a problem to seek professional help. The risk of having an uncontrolled infection can be greater than the fear of contracting the virus.
We have launched a new website which will hopefully be more informative and up to date. It even supports teledentistry. I thought this was a strange concept, but it actually seems to be catching on, especially for those that are concerned about coming into the office. Sometimes I can diagnose the problem over the phone and give a solution to it, other times I can direct the patient to an endodontist for a root canal instead of coming to my office first, or at the very least since I know what we are treating when we get you to the office, I can minimize chair time or the number of visits, and therefore potential exposure.