Times are tough for everyone today, but medical care professionals are by far the most vulnerable. If you have a private dentistry that’s still open for business, then you are already helping people in a time when so many others have refused to.
However, keeping every one of your staff, including yourself safe is most certainly a prerogative, because getting infected with Covid-19 is a high probability for not just dentists, but also their administrative staff and the reception.
Risk of Contracting Covid-19: All Dental Staff RemainHighly Vulnerable
On account of the fact that they interactwith multiple patientsevery day, and for many hours at a stretch, this leaves front desk and administrative staff at a dental clinic vulnerable to the pandemic. Your receptionists and otherstaff members who work in direct patient interactions need adequate protectionto keep themselves from getting infected with Covid-19, and we are going to discuss the best possible precautions next.
Install Sneeze Guards
An acrylic sneeze guard is a barrier designed to protect medical and dental personnel from the novel coronavirus, as well as other germs which can spread from person to person via infected droplets from sneezes and coughs. Install these in areas where one or more of your staff members interact with your patients, or anyone else who comes into the clinic. Staff working in dental operatories, the reception and all administrative areas in the clinic can be protected from the pandemic by installing customized, acrylic sneeze guards and plexiglass barriers.
Provide Appropriate Protective Gear to Everyone
Masks, gloves and hand sanitizers are both effective, as well as mandatory precautionary gear which should be available to every member of your team. Staff working in close proximity with blood and tissue samples will of course need additional protection, but gloves, masks and hand sanitizers should always be available tothose who are dealing with the public on a continuous basis.
Make the Rules Clear on How to Effectively Use the Gear You Provide
It’s one thing to have the necessary protective gear, and entirely another to use them effectively to stay protected. For example, disposable gloves will need to be properly disposed after a certain time, and hand sanitizer needs to be used after each interaction with a patient if they are to have a good chance at eliminating the virus when present. Being a dentist, you likely know how to do things yourself already, but the same is likely not true for all your staff, especially the non-medical personnel. Talk to them about how to use the protective gear for maximum efficiency against the novel coronavirus, and do so on a fairlyregular basis, with updates on the situation in your area.
As per the CDC, Covid-19 clusters indental clinicshave not been reported yet in the United States. However, dentists work in close proximity to all patients, which means that they do require added protective measures to stay safe. Check out the official precautionary steps suggested by the CDC on their website to know more, although the procedures are pretty much standard for all medical practitioners at this point.