THIS IS a question that arises among many during the lockdowns: Where does one seek emergency dental treatment?
It would be in the Emergency Room of hospitals. Then again, do this only in emergency circumstances. If you can postpone or delay the dental attention, do so as the risk of COVID-19 infection in a hospital setting is potentially high.
It is best to inquire right now from a hospital or health care center nearest to you if dental attention is available, and what to do to get emergency dental care.
Guidelines on what constitutes a dental emergency is changing as the pandemic progresses and the nature of the virus undergoes continued scrutiny.
What the PDA advises is that dentists must use their professional judgment to determine a patient’s need for urgent or emergency care on a case by case basis.
The American Dental Association (ADA) has issued an advisory on what constitutes a dental emergency. These are technical guidelines suitable for dentists.
In general, though, dental emergencies are potentially life threatening and require immediate treatment to stop ongoing tissue bleeding, alleviate severe pain or infection, the ADA says.
Now then, there is always the friendly dentist in your neighborhood who may be willing to accommodate non-emergency cases. But then again, there may not be.
That’s because dentists today are careful about the circumstances in which to treat oral health care patients.
The Philippine Dental Association (PDA) recommends that at this time of the corona virus pandemic dentists do not perform non-emergency procedures.
For emergency dental attention, the PDA recommends that patients call their dentists so patients could be screened for any symptoms of the coronavirus infection.
We have said this before, and we will say it again: person-to-person transmission rates are high. And infected persons with no symptoms may potentially carry and transmit the corona virus. This is why dental offices should be extra careful, for the sake and protection of the dentist, the dental staff and other patients.
When patients are unable to do this (for example, they don’t have the means to call by mobile phones), dental clinics should devote an extra room for face-to-face screening – to protect other patients and the dental staff. Both patient and the interviewer must also wear face masks and preferably face shields.
Once patients pass the screening, they can have a one-on-one session with the dentist. Companions of children and the elderly should wait outside or in a separate waiting area where they must follow social distancing and safety protocols.
Dental clinics now give priority to dental procedures that do not produce aerosols or air droplets.
This is because aerosol droplets and fine particles can linger in the air over a period of time before settling on surfaces. During that time, those exposed to the droplets are potentially at risk of coronavirus infection./PN
