Dental Practices Change in the Covid Era

Patients, too, have been anxious. Some dentists have found themselves treating stressed clients who were grinding their teeth in their sleep and needed devices to prevent chips or fractures.

“Honestly, I’ve made a lot of night guards,” said Dr. Todd C. Kandl, who has spent 13 years building up his family practice with a staff of eight in East Stroudsburg, Pa., tucked away in the Poconos.

Forced to close the practice in mid-March, Dr. Kandl received a federal loan that allowed him to reopen on June 1. In between, he tried to diagnose patients’ conditions over the phone, he said. Now, most of his patients have come back.

He and his staff follow C.D.C. guidelines by putting on a clean gown for each patient and changing it afterward. They launder all gowns at the office.

He has installed a number of the upgrades recommended by the C.D.C., including high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filter units to trap fine particles. And he purchased several suction systems that remove droplets and aerosols, as well as ultraviolet light to help sanitize.

Dr. Kandl also chose to discontinue use of nitrous oxide, a gas used to mildly sedate and relax anxious dental patients. In the past, he rarely used the gas, but amid the Covid-19 outbreak, he grew concerned about his system, an older type that wasn’t worth the risk of exposing patients.

Lynn Uehara, 55, the business manager for a Hawaii family dental practice, said that island living had resulted in shipping problems to obtain the protective gear that her employees need.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/health/covid-dentists-teeth.html