Providing the best dental services is not just about finding and employing the best dental professionals. While technical competency is obviously vital to the success of the business, a safe and healthy dental practice environment requires more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the healthcare sector, including dental services, which have been presented with new dentistry challenges. Every healthcare professional is required to implement innovative ways to cope with industry changes and continue to provide high-quality service to patients.
Challenges in the Dental Practice
During the peak of the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people across the world had little to no access to oral healthcare. One of the biggest challenges that dentists in post-COVID times are facing after the worst of the pandemic has passed is the onslaught of patients coming in with deteriorating oral health.
Multiple reports suggest this increase can be attributed to the fact that the majority could not access oral healthcare during the pandemic. Even after lockdowns were lifted, most people hesitated to visit a dentist because dental anxiety worsened patients’ oral health. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that most people neglected to keep up with oral hygiene during the pandemic. Increasingly more people turned to sweets and snacks to cope with stress. As a result, their teeth suffered.
In addition to bad eating habits, mental stress on people manifested in conditions such as bruxism. Such conditions require quick treatment to prevent them from causing irreparable damage.
In light of this situation, as the pandemic eased its grip and people were more willing to visit their dentists, dentists reported a rise in patients returning embarrassed due to the dental issues that had piled up while they were in lockdown.
Building a Better Environment for Dentists and Patients
The onus of creating a safe and welcoming environment for patients to return to falls on the entire dental team. Creating such an environment requires measures taken before, during, and after every appointment.
Prior to the day of the appointment, a dental receptionist or admin should call to inquire about the patient’s health. They should ask about any COVID symptoms that the patient might be experiencing. The procedure of getting into the dentist’s office is also different post-pandemic. Waiting rooms are less crowded as the number of people allowed in one space at a time has become more limited. This not only increases the sanitariness of the workplace but also eases the patients’ minds about their safety. The patient may be informed about this procedure on a phone call prior to their appointment.
Once a patient has made it to the office for their appointment, they may be subject to more preparatory steps such as having their temperature taken and filling out additional paperwork.
During an appointment, dentists now take more precautions to make sure the clinic’s cleanliness is maintained and that each treatment is as safe as can be. Between every patient, equipment that’s not thrown away is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Dentists and other dental workers can don protective equipment such as disposable gloves, fitted masks, eyewear, and a face shield.
Along with disinfecting equipment after every patient, the treatment area is also cleaned, disinfected, and sterilized.
As more and more patients return to their dentist, developing patient-focused care is vital. This can be achieved not just by hiring more competent dentists and dental temps but by improving the quality of the service they provide. A dentist’s bedside manner has come to matter just as much as their technical skills.
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