Patient Screening
The RCDSO recommends that all patients should be screened for COVID-19. Patients should be systematically assessed before they book an appointment and at the time of check-in. Questions that should be asked include:
- Do you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone with a confirmed case of COViD-19?
- Do you have any symptoms that pertain to COVID-19, such as fever, chronic cough, shortness of breath and/or difficulty breathing?
- Have you had close contact with anyone that has acute respiratory symptoms?
- Have you travelled outside of Canada in the last 14-days?
For more details on symptoms to look out for, you can click here.
PPE and Sanitization
Dental health-care personnel should be wearing PPE at all times while they are in a dental setting. This includes wearing a surgical mask, full-face shield, eye protection, gloves and gown. More details can be found here. If surgical masks and full-face shields are unavailable, do not perform the dental procedure. Refer the patient to another clinic that has the correct PPE.
As recommended by the CDC, dental offices should promptly clean and disinfect the room and equipment after each appointment in accordance with the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings. Hand washing should also be frequent throughout the day to minimize the risk of contamination.
Social Distancing
With the recommended 6-feet distancing between one another, it may be a safer option to ask patients to wait in their car until everything is ready for their appointment. Your patients would also feel more comfortable with this option. You can easily alert them to come in by sending an SMS through My Contact Pro to ensure an efficient process.
Any changes to your check-in procedures can also be quickly communicated by running a list of active patients and reaching them through an email or SMS blast to ensure all patients are on the same page.
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