After nine weeks of non-essential business closures that began on March 16, British Columbia is allowing the province to reopen. Following other provinces that have reopened, B.C. is moving into Phase 2 of its Restart Plan which includes allowing dental offices to reopen beginning May 19, 2020. The College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia (CDSBC) has lifted its closure recommendation in support of the province as well.

B.C. has had 2480 COVID-19 cases to-date, but has seen fewer than 12 new daily cases in recent days, prompting Premier John Horgan to reopen.

B.C. Dental Offices Can Reopen

Based on Phase 2 of B.C.’s Restart Plan, the CDSBC has released a guideline to help dental offices return to work safely, “Transitioning Oral Healthcare to Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Response Plan”.

The guideline provides recommendations for oral healthcare providers reopening on or after May 19, 2020. It includes ongoing pandemic best practices, PPE, and infection prevention and control strategies relevant to all dental professionals including full-time staff and temp workers. It contains guidance from the BC Centre for Disease Control’s document Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Community-Based Allied Health Care Providers in Clinic Settings.

The British Columbia Dental Hygienists’ Association (BCDHA) and the Certified Dental Assistants of British Columbia (CDABC) both direct members to follow this guideline released by CDSBC.

Key Points from CDSBC’s New Guidelines

Some of the key points addressed in CDSBC’s new guideline include:

  • Patient care prioritization and screening, including for suspected or confirmed COVID-positive patients.
  • Pandemic best practices based on the guidance of provincial health and disease control bodies with Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) principles.
  • Specific Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) directives that are role-based or specific to practice context. When to use, what to use, how to store and how to properly don and doff PPE.
  • Staff safety including screening, education, exposure prevention and mental health protection.
  • Facility management.
  • Equipment and area specific guidelines including HVAC/air flow evaluation, limiting aerosol generating instruments and decontamination practices.

TempStars urges its B.C. members to read and understand the Transitioning Oral Healthcare to Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Response Plan before returning to work or reopening their practice.

TempStars Policies & Mission

As always, TempStars’ mission is to make dental professionals happier at work, and that includes the health and safety of our community members.

We are currently providing dental temping and hiring for offices throughout B.C., including Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, and Burnaby. We’re excited to resume support for these offices, as well as provide dental temping connections for any hygienists or dental assistants who might want to fill in their work week with dental temping shifts.

We recognize that our members may have concerns about safely returning to work, and we are here to support you as you transition back to work. We have always had clear and consistent guidelines and policies when it comes to our dental hygienist and dental assistant members working at dental offices. You can read more about our policies as they relate to COVID-19 here.

Stay tuned to TempStars.com for more updates, information and interesting reads for dental professionals.