Dear patients, here are a few facts you need to know about your dental visit in this COVID 19 outbreak. You call up your dentist for an appointment with any of the following complaints: A discoloured tooth, a routine cleaning, a broken or dislodged filling, a broken denture, or itchy gums, and the answer from you doc is, NO, not right now. Please don’t be dissapointed, upset, angry and maybe surprised for the answer. It is just for your own good. Yes. Lets look for a few facts.
This Coronavirus is highly contagious and spreads by droplets from mouth, nose and eyes and surface contact.
A virus from the infected person can be released out by coughing, sneezing, his contaminated hands and clothes. So especially in a dental setup, a single patient of COVID 19, either an active phase, or a carrier state, or just a healthy individual with Corona contaminated hands is a pottential hazard to all those who visit the dental clinic.
One more thing you need to know is the equipment used in a dental clinique like aerators, air syringe, water syringe, scalers and physio dispensers, generates lots and lots of aerosolts, like small droplets of water in huge number coming out of patients mouth, and forming a cloud in the surrounding space.
Air and water syringe Ultrasound Physio Dispenser
Imagine the number of microbes, including COVID 19 in that cloud. And it is dangerous. So most of the dentists all over the world has stopped the procedures including any of these equipments and instruments for the purpose of prevention of infection and safety. So the dental treatment procedures are classified as ELECTIVE PROCEDURED, which are not done at this point of time (COVID 19 outbreak) and can be postponed till the situation comes under control, and at the same time, minor discomfort can be managed with teleconsultation and non invasive care. EMERGENCY PROCEDURES which have to be taken care of and will be performed with all due precocious, for example
- Severe dental pain, not responding to analgetics or painkillers.
- 2. Swelling over the gum
- 3. Swollen tooth
- 4. A fracture of the tooth because of an accident or a fall.
So, if you have any of the complains which are classified under the emergency category, your dentist is always ready to take care of you with all the safety measures. And if your complain is a minor one, then a strict NO. So, stay back home, stay safe, keep smiling. Thank you.
