ADA Continues to Provide Guidance As Practices Reopen

Friday, May 29, 2020

ADA Continues to Provide Guidance As Practices Reopen

In March, the American Dental Association (ADA) urged dentists to postpone elective procedures and only treat emergencies until the end of April in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) and keep dental emergency patients out of hospitals. Now, as practices reopen, the ADA continues to offer guidance to help dentists navigate this new normal.

The ADA’s Advisory Task Force for Dental Practice Recovery developed a free toolkit with recommended measures to take to protect patients, staff and dentists from COVID-19 so dentists can safely treat patients again.

“Oral health is an integral part of overall health,” according to an ADA news release. “Treatment of dental disease, as well as prevention, is important to help keep people healthy. The longer dental practices remain closed to preventive care and treatment for early forms of dental disease, the more likely that patients’ untreated disease will progress, increasing the complexity and cost for treatment down the road.”

The ADA’s “science-based guidance” builds on already strong infection control protocols and calls for use of the highest PPE available, including masks, goggles and face shields.

Here’s an overview of the interim guidance from the ADA to follow as you reopen your practice:

 Ways to reduce aerosols

-Hand scaling when cleaning teeth rather than using ultrasonic scaling

-Use of high velocity suction whenever possible

-Use of rubber dental dams whenever possible

Changes to patient interactions before, during and after dental appointments

Before dental appointments

-Dental office staff may call patients and ask questions about their current health status. They may repeat these questions when patients arrive to make sure nothing has changed.

-Patients may have their temperature taken prior to any procedure.

-Patients may be asked to bring and wear their own masks upon arrival at the dental office, particularly in states or cities that mandate the wearing of masks in public.

-Patients may be asked to limit the number of people they bring to the appointment. That could mean leaving children at home under proper supervision or allowing older children who need dental care to go into the office alone while their parent waits outside during their appointment.

During dental appointments

-Patients may be asked to wait outside until the dental team is ready to see them to reduce the number of people in the office and the time patients are around other people.

-Inside the office, things that many people often touch, like toys or magazines, may have been removed.

-The office may have hand sanitizer available for patient use.

-Dental staff may wipe down items patients touch, such as pens, clipboards or furniture.

-The computer keyboard in the dental operatory may have a disposable cover so it can be easily cleaned between patients.

-The dentist and team members may be using different protective equipment than they’ve used at previous appointments such as different masks, face shields, gowns and goggles.

After dental appointments

-Staff will thoroughly clean the areas where patients have been, using disinfectants that are effective against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The ADA recently released a guide and interactive checklist to help member dentists assess virus transmission risks in their practice. This includes factors such as local disease transmission rates, patient-and treatment-specific issues and facility considerations. It will be shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

For more, visit the ADA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Center for Dentists.

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