If your appointment with a dentist in Salt Lake City, Utah for teeth cleaning is soon, you’ll need to wait for a while. To help minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control have requested all dentists to halt non-urgent visitations.
What is an Emergency Procedure for a Dentist?
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, patients visiting a dentist in Salt Lake City, Utah can still receive treatment for serious dental issues. Any life-threatening issue is considered by ADA to need urgent treatment. However, your dentist decides what’s to be treated right away. In most occasions, you’ll get dental treatment for the following;
- post-surgery care
- dental operation related to the treatment of cancer
- swollen neck, face, or gums,
- non-stop bleeding
- broken or lost temporary crown
- trauma affecting a patient’s breathing ability
- tissue damage or painful broken teeth
- tissue that needs a biopsy
- that don’t work correctly
- signs of infection such as swelling and pain
- Hurting wires in your braces
Before you visit a dentist in Salt Lake City, Utah, you need first to call them so they can respond to your inquiries about what’s covered within their emergency procedures. If you have an emergency and your dentist can see you, you can visit a hospital. However, the emergency room shouldn’t be the first place you go to if your dentist is there.
What are the Guidelines for Dentists in Salt Lake City, Utah?
Any moment you leave your home, you come into contact with germs. However, all medical practitioners should follow particular safety procedures. Your dentist is expected to sterilize their equipment and wash their hands. Some tools are never re-used. Nevertheless, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, your dentist should;
- Space out your appointments
- Always wear personal protective equipment
- Disinfect all surfaces
- Sterilize equipment between uses
- Ask about your history of travel
- Practice social distancing by placing waiting bay chairs one meter apart
- Ask if you’ve come into contact with COVID-19 patients
- Check for COVID-19 signs
Why are Dentists Limited to Seeing Patients in Salt Lake City, Utah?
The virus that causes coronavirus is transmitted through droplets. It is the respiratory droplets that stay in the air when a COVID-19 patient sneezes or coughs. If a healthy individual breathes the droplets in, they become infected. This virus is also contained in the saliva and mucus in your throat and mouth. These are the fluids dentists, and their gears come in contact with more often. There are dental tools that can spray the respiratory droplets in the surrounding.
Dental offices in Salt Lake City, Utah lack high protection levels because they lack enough N95 face masks, rooms for one patient, and rooms for airborne infection isolation. You can decide to skip your regular treatments to give your dentist more time to focus on emergency procedures. This critical decision can save resources such as protective gears to treat patients with coronavirus. Due to this pandemic, many health care practitioners have run out of the PPEs.
The common symptoms of COVID-19 are shortness of breath, runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea, dry cough, tiredness, and fever. If you feel that you have COVID-19 or experience these symptoms, don’t hesitate to tell your dentist. There are specific steps they can take to reduce the chances for the virus’ spread. They’ll work together with your doctor to get you the right care in Salt Lake City, Utah.