Covid talk has donned many articles recently, and here is another...yay!
I am not sure if these/ how many of these points have already been implemented in some places, but some extra points I have been thinking about to protect patients and staff during covid are as follows:
Grab and Go bags and/ or lists- for emergency patients only, you could have an extraction bag, abscess draining, or biopsy bag, with all the instruments in prior, or lists so that the dental team know exactly what to get, saving time.
No chairs (apart from the patient chair)- that's right! Standing dentistry can also be better for your back, and you can mavoevre in different positions easily. Aside from this, there is less chance of virus particles landing on surfaces (stay in aerosol for 3 hours, Stainless steel for 48 hours and plastic for 72 hours). In addition covering everything with plastic wraps although terrible for the environment, would mean that contaminated surfaces can be disposed of after patients.
Nurse triaging with protocols in place (already in place in a lot of practices).
Advising the patient beforehand: to bring their medical warning cards and medication list with them, giving them oral hygiene instructions beforehand and warning them of the strange and scary PPE everyone will be wearing.
Giving patients hair and boot covers when they enter, a plastic bag to pop in their belongings, and maybe even a drape to go over their noses (if they are able to breathe from their mouth).
Dentistry is great at adapting to infection control procedures for protection of staff and patients. This is just some extra food for thought.
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