Your next dental visit will look much different from what you’re used to.
Just like the way we do most things now, dental appointments have changed because of COVID-19.
When the province went into lockdown in mid-March, dental appointments in Ontario also stopped, except for emergencies.
Quinte News spoke with Dr. Gokhan Shevket of You Make Me Smile Dental in Belleville and he said there were virtual consultations done when an emergency did arise and dentists were able to write prescriptions for antibiotics or painkillers if needed.
As of June 1 (Monday), lockdown measures have been relaxed for dental offices and he says patients will begin coming to the office again as long as the office can adhere to the guidelines stated by the governing board the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.
Dr. Shevket says one of the big differences will be the lack of a reception area.
There will also be a significant gap between patients’ appointments to allow staff to not only clean the room just used, but to then prepare a new room for use for another patient.
You Make Me Smile Belleville has eight rooms available for patient use but Dr. Shevket says only two will be in use at a time to allow for less patient contact between people. He says patients will also enter through one door and exit through another to even further limit contact.
Staff will also have additional layers of personal protective equipment (face shields, gowns, masks) and each room will have a medical grade air purifier to provide an additional measure of cleanliness.
There will also be a special rinse for patients to use for their appointments.
Dr. Shevket says while the office may have been closed for over two months, there was a lot of work done behind closed doors.
He says there were many sleepless nights, lots of reading and research done, a lot of work done to secure the necessary PPE and even staff coming in on days off to install barriers where needed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each dental office will have different protocols and procedures for their patients. This is only one example of changes that have been made in one organization.
