COVID-19 and Dental Care: What You Should Know

Now that we’ve been living with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for a few months, we’re learning how to take precautions and minimize the risk of contracting the virus. You may be wondering if it’s safe to pursue elective medical procedures or resume routine dental care.

Our team at Smile Design Manhattan in Midtown West in New York City outlines some of the important things you should know about COVID-19 and how it relates to your dental care.

Understanding COVID-19

COVID-19 is the disease that results from a novel strain of the coronavirus that first infected humans in late 2019. It’s a highly infectious respiratory illness that can cause:

• Fever
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath

You may also experience a new loss of smell or taste.

Worldwide pause 

After a nearly worldwide shelter-in-place and the closure of many medical practices, businesses, and retail stores, most states are beginning to open back up and allow people to resume elective procedures. After several weeks of pausing all services except for emergencies, we’ve reopened for all routine, elective, and emergency dental care. 

How we’re protecting our patients and staff from COVID-19

In addition to our already ultra-high sanitation standards, there are a number of additional precautions we’re taking to protect you and our team from the virus:

• Our team is wearing face masks at all times
• Patients are required to wear face masks into the building
• Patients are asked to come alone to minimize the number of people in the waiting room
• We have spaced more time between patients to reduce the number of people in the office each day
• We have hand sanitizing stations spaced throughout our clinic
• We are fastidiously disinfecting the check-in and reception areas, the door handles, all surfaces and common areas, as well as each dental room
• We cover, replace, and clean our equipment between use

Each of our team members has their temperature checked each morning and we monitor the temperatures of all of our patients before entry to the office. We’re maintaining a strict “no sickness” policy to safeguard everyone. If you don’t feel well or you have any of the symptoms of COVID-19 that we outlined above, please reschedule your appointment.

While we adhere to the CDC’s guidance for dental practices during the COVID-19 response, we’re also working in any and all emergencies. If you’re in pain, have any signs of infection, have broken teeth or dentures, or are experiencing bleeding or swelling, please call our office right away.