What to Expect When Your Dentist’s Office Reopens
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has considerably changed a lot of things about our everyday lives. Your periodic visits to the dentist have changed, too. Save gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) and help prevent patients who require emergency treatment from going to busy hospitals.
Now that the date has passed and states are opening up, dental practices are seeing non-emergency appointments in patients. In addition to the infection control measures they have always followed, the Jansons Medical Centre has developed science-oriented dentists on additional steps they can take to help protect their valuable patients and staff.
Here’s what you can expect from your next meeting.
Before Your Appointment
To make sure patients are healthy, your dentist may call you and ask you a few questions about your current health before your appointment. They can also repeat these questions if you come here to ensure that nothing has changed. Your dental clinic may also request that you restrict the number of people you bring to your appointment. It could mean leaving your kids at home or letting older children go alone to the office while their parent is waiting outside at their appointment.
At Your Appointment
If your city or state requires people to wear masks while in public, make sure you wear one at your appointment. You may be questioned to wait outside until you have them ready when you arrive at the dental office. It reduces the number of individuals in the office and reduces your time with others. You may have your temperature taken when you enter the office.
In the clinic, you can see things in the waiting room that people often touch – like magazines and toys – have been removed. They can use the hand sanitizer and can wipe down items such as pens, clipboards and furniture.
When you are at the dental chair, you may notice that the last time you were there, some things look different. The dentist may have a disposable cover on the computer’s keyboard so that it can be cleaned between patients easily, for instance. Your dentist may also use protective equipment different from that used at previous appointments. It could include various masks, facial shields, clothes and guns. These additional precautions protect you and your dentist.
After Your Appointment
After your appointment has ended, the personnel will clean up the areas you used to prepare for a next patient using disinfectants and sanitizers that are effective against the virus that COVID-19 causes. It contributes to decreasing the risk of disease transmission to others.
If within two days of your appointment, you begin to feel sick with the symptoms of COVID-19, call the dental office. You might have carried the virus at the moment of your appointment already, so everyone who contacted you during that time could also be at risk of getting sick. Regular dental visits are an essential component of your overall healing. Be sure you reschedule your dental checks once your local authorities reopen dental practices. Jansons Medical Centre dentist will ensure that your visit for all involved is as safe as possible.
