Dental professionals who aim to provide quality service to their patients must ensure they use advanced dental safety measures for their own as well as the patients’ safety. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, maintaining trust and safety during dental procedures has become an area of great concern. The risk of Covid-19 transmission has created trust and safety issues among patients and dental professionals.
Covid-19 is an infectious disease that spreads through droplets, which are common during dental treatment. When the saliva mixes with water, infectious aerosols are produced that put the patient as well as the dental professionals at risk. Furthermore, this creates a trust issue among the patients and discourages them from seeking out dental treatments.
However, research has shown that if precautionary measures are taken, aerosol generation can be managed, and the safety of patients and dental professionals ensured. By following some simple protocols, dental professionals can maximize the trust of their patients and ensure the dental safety of both patients and dental workers.
Protocols to Avoid Infection Transmission Within the Dental Clinic
Covid-19 can be transmitted from one person to another through surfaces such as door knobs, seats, armrests, and so on. This means that one infected patient or professional can potentially put all the people at the dental clinic at risk. Hence, all the surfaces should be sanitized at regular intervals to prevent this situation. In fact, sanitizers should also be placed in multiple accessible places to allow the patients to disinfect themselves whenever they need to.
Disposable sheets and equipment must be used, and after each use, all the tools and sheets must be replaced with new and clean ones. Everything in the room should be disinfected to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. Recent research has also shown that by following certain techniques, dental professionals can reduce aerosol production and therefore minimize the threat of Covid-19 within dental clinics.
All rooms must have proper ventilation to avoid the transmission of the virus from one individual to another. Waiting areas are the most commonly used areas at any clinic. Therefore, special attention should be paid to ensure that the waiting rooms are clean and have good ventilation.
Social distancing must be practiced within the waiting rooms, so the seats should be at least six feet apart from one another. In addition, patients must not be allowed to be accompanied by someone to avoid overcrowding in the clinic.
Patients coming in for dental treatment must be checked for common Covid-19 symptoms such as fever and coughs. If any patient has symptoms, they should be sent home and asked to come back later with their PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test results. In the event of an emergency, patients with Covid-19 still have to be treated. In that case, special precautions to ensure the safety of the professional must be taken.
Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
All dental professionals who engage with patients must wear PPE. A PPE kit that includes gloves, goggles, gowns, shoe covers, head covers, masks, respirators, eye protection, and face shields will ensure minimum contact with the patient. This will make patients feel more comfortable during a dental procedure. Thus, the PPE will ensure the safety of the dental professional and the patient while also winning the patient’s trust.
Dental Temps
As many dental professionals get infected with Covid-19, providing quality services to patients becomes harder. To call in sick employees would put everyone at the clinic at risk of getting infected. Thus, it’s safer for sick employees to stay at home. However, in this case, who provides treatment to all the patients that have been waiting?
That’s when Dental Temps come into play. Through our services, temporary dental professionals can be hired to fill in, so the unwell dental worker has enough time to recover. With dental temps, highly qualified and experienced dental professionals can be taken on board to ensure that trust and safety are guaranteed.
1000s of dental offices like yours trust and rely on TempStars to find the best candidate to join their team! Contact us now!
