The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many of the businesses and practices we visited on a regular basis. However, after months of stay-at-home orders, parts of the country are slowly beginning to reopen. Now that quarantine orders have been loosened, is it safe to visit your dentist? Read on as your Scripps Ranch dentist explains what you need to know about getting dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dental Practices in the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 is transmitted when infected respiratory droplets come in contact with a person’s mouth, nose, or eyes. These particles are spread when a person sick with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks, which is why social distancing is the best way to keep yourself and others safe.
However, that can be a somewhat difficult task when it comes to dentistry. During typical dental appointments, you’ll be in close proximity to your dentist, the dental team, and other patients. To top it off, dental instruments like drills, ultrasonic scalers, and air-water syringes can potentially spread infected particles throughout the room and allow them to linger in the air. Thankfully, your dentist is an expert at keeping your smile healthy and germs at bay.
Infection Control in Dentistry
Infection control is an important dental safety protocol in Scripps Ranch that has always played a key role in protecting you from sickness like the common cold and the flu during your visits. Your dental team uses a variety of precautions to safeguard your health, including:
- Excellent hand hygiene: Your dentist and their team wash their hands before and after treating every patient, before putting on and after taking off a pair of gloves, and numerous other times throughout the day.
- Adequate PPE: To protect themselves from infection and to prevent the spread of germs, they wear personal protective equipment like coats, gloves, masks, goggles, and face shields.
- CDC-approved instrument sterilization: Every dental tool is sterilized using methods outlined by the CDC, like high heat, steam under pressure, and chemical vapors.
Potential Dangers of Putting Off Your Dental Appointment
Delaying needed dental work or your regular checkup can lead to a host of painful and expensive problems later. If you’re considering whether or not to visit your dentist, remember:
- Tartar can only be removed by your dentist: That tough yellowish material on your teeth is brimming with bacteria, and it can only be cleaned away by a dental professional.
- Teeth can’t heal themselves: Problems like broken or infected teeth won’t go away on their own. In fact, they’ll inevitably get worse with time, spreading damage and bacteria throughout your mouth and potentially the rest of your body as well.
- Prevention is the best medicine: The goal of routine dental checkups is to catch oral health issues as early as possible so they can be treated easily and successfully. Early detection is key for combating conditions like gum disease, oral cancer, and dental abscesses.
It’s essential to remember that even as the country reopens, social distancing is the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy. However, if you need to visit your dentist during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can rest assured that they are taking every precaution to keep you as safe as possible.
About the Practice
At Mod Squad Dental, nothing is more important than the wellbeing of our patients, staff, and the community of Scripps Ranch, CA. Now more than ever, we encourage everyone to practice great at-home oral hygiene and care for their smiles carefully. Our practice has always met and surpassed the ambitious sanitation standards set forth by the CDC alongside utilizing the most effective infection control protocols. If you have any questions or concerns about receiving dental care in the COVID-19 pandemic, we can be reached via our website or at (858) 682-2394.
