Have you been working from home for the past couple of months? Have you been avoiding going out unless you absolutely have to? If so, you’re practicing social distancing, which involves staying away from other people when possible in order to avoid catching COVID-19. Ideally, everyone should be adhering to social distancing guidelines, even your dentist. Just how is your dentist practicing social distancing? Keep reading to find out.
How Is Your Dentist Practicing Social Distancing?
Here are some of the ways your dentist is implementing social distancing in their office:
Virtual Waiting Rooms
Instead of having you wait in the office, your dental team will instruct you to wait in your car once you arrive. You’ll check in with your phone and the team will let you know when the dentist is ready for you. This will prevent germs from being spread in the waiting room via magazines and toys which are touched by many people every day.
Spaced-Out Scheduling
Your dentist isn’t treating quite as many patients in a day as they used to. Instead, they’re spacing out patients. Appointments are longer, allowing more dentistry to be performed in one sitting. Additionally, there is now more time in between appointments, allowing your dental team to thoroughly clean the office between patients.
How Else Is Your Dentist Keeping Their Patients Safe from COVID-19?
In addition to enforcing social distancing rules, your dental team is taking extra precautions to keep you safe, such as:
- Performing daily health checks of every member of the team and sending them home if they don’t feel well
- Not giving handshakes or hugs to patients
- Changing into and out of work clothes at work instead of at home
- Asking patients to use an antimicrobial rinse and wash their hands before their appointment begins
- Asking patients questions related to their recent health upon their arrival
- Thoroughly disinfecting the operatory before and after every appointment
- Deep cleaning every dental instrument between patients
- Having even the front desk staff wear face masks
- Using advanced chairside suction techniques to minimize aerosol contamination
Your dentist takes COVID-19 safety precautions extremely seriously, which is why they implement all of these measures and more. To learn more about how your dentist follows dental office safety, give them a call.
About the Author
Dr. Renee Corbitt is a dentist in Fort Worth, TX who earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1986 from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Her practice strictly enforces social distancing as well as taking all of the extra precautions listed above. To learn more about how Dr. Corbitt’s practice can keep you safe and germ-free during this pandemic, you can contact her office by calling (817)-294-8821.