For months, most dental offices were closed due to the coronavirus, aside from emergencies. However, as cases are beginning to die down, dental offices around the country are opening again – leaving people to wonder whether it’s truly safe to finally get their regular checkups and fillings again.
The answer is yes. Dental offices are now taking many new precautions to protect you, their other patients, and themselves from the risk of coronavirus exposure.
How You’ll Be Protected When You Visit The Dentist
1 – Reduced appointment bookings
Most dental clinics are deliberately not filling all their appointment slots, to minimize the number of people who might end up waiting. Ideally, if you show up to your appointment time, you’ll be able to walk right in.
2 – Waiting Areas
If you do have to wait for your appointment you will be directed to a seat in your office’s waiting area that allows for proper social distancing, or you may have the option to call when you arrive and wait from your vehicle until your provider is ready to see you.
3 – Extra PPE
Dentists are going all out with their personal protective equipment. Expect to see people dressed more like it’s the emergency room, with full-body suits, gloves, and large plastic faceplates to protect you and them from potential disease transmission.
4 – No shared entertainment items
Unfortunately, one thing that has to be eliminated are items intended to be shared among multiple people, such as books and magazines in the waiting room, or toys for children. They’d just be vectors for disease transmission. So, we recommend bringing your own entertainment, particularly if you’re there with kids who need distractions.
5 – Increased disinfecting
Expect your dentist’s office to smell even more dentist-y than ever before. Offices will be regularly spraying disinfectant all over their offices and equipment, and after every appointment, to further reduce the chances of any viruses remaining after a patient has left.
6 – Changes to procedures
One of the biggest risks in terms of spreading disease via dentistry is that so many typical dental procedures end up creating an aerosol that could contain a viral load. For example, use of water jets instantly creates a spray of potentially-contaminated liquid after it hits a patient’s mouth. Dentists are changing their methods in numerous procedures to prevent this from happening.
In short, dentists are taking many steps to protect you in their offices. So if you’re late for your yearly checkup, don’t delay.
Contact Princeton Center for Dental Aesthetics and Implants today, 609-924-1414.