How Your Dentist Prepares for Your Appointment During COVID-19
As someone with family members who are high-risk for COVID-19, you’ve been doing your part to flatten the curve. You’ve been working from home, wearing a mask when you have to go out, and washing your hands frequently. One day during your quarantine, your dentist calls you with the news that it’s time for your checkup. You’re worried at first. Is it safe to go to the dentist right now? Rest assured that it is. Keep reading below to learn some of the precautions your dental team is taking to ensure the health and safety of every patient.
Designating a Safety Champion
Every day, a different member of your dentist’s staff will be randomly selected as that day’s Safety Champion. This person will be in charge of various safety tasks around the office, such as enforcing social distancing, fielding questions, greeting patients, and generally making sure everyone is being as safe as possible.
Checking the Staff Members’ Health Daily
When the dental team members arrive at the office in the morning, their temperature will be taken with a no-contact thermometer. They’ll also be required to answer a few questions regarding their current health, such as whether they have any COVID-19 symptoms, or they’ve been in contact with someone who does. If their health is not up to par, they will be promptly sent home to recover.
Changing Work Clothes at Work
In the old days, you may have seen your dentist or hygienist out and about, still clad in their scrubs. That won’t be the case anymore. Instead, the team will be changing into and out of their scrubs at the office. This is because recent research has suggested that changing at home and then commuting to the office can bring outside germs into the building.
Wearing Increased PPE
Before COVID-19, all your dentist had to do before your appointment was wash their hands and put on a fresh mask and a new pair of gloves. Nowadays, however, that isn’t enough. Your dentist and their clinical team members will be wearing more personal protective equipment (PPE) than they used to. This includes items like surgical gowns, shoe coverings, double or triple face masks, and face shields.
Even before the pandemic, dental offices were among the safest places you could be. Now, they have made your safety and comfort their top priority by taking additional precautions such as the ones listed above. So, if you need to visit the dentist for any reason these days, you can rest easy knowing you’ll be safe in their care.