Dentaltown May 2020 - 38

continuing
education

° Implementing limited reuse of face masks (care
should be taken to ensure that health care
personnel do not touch outer surfaces of the
mask during care).
° Removing and discarding the face mask if
soiled, damaged or hard to breathe through.
° Prioritize face masks for selected activities
such as essential surgeries and procedures;
when splashes and sprays are anticipated; when
face-to-face or close contact with potentially
infected patients is unavoidable; and when
performing aerosol-generating procedures.

Prevention and the American Dental Association. You
might also find helpful guidance and information from
your individual state dental societies.
Governmental agencies are also good sources of
information that can keep you up-to-date with current
policies and procedures. You should reference such
websites as OSHA, CDC and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
Many dental offices are also small businesses and
may need help during these times. Some resources
for the business end include federal Small Business
Administration loans and IRS coronavirus tax relief.

It may also occur that face masks are simply not
available. Should that come to pass, CDC recommends:
* Excluding health care personnel at higher risk
for severe illness from COVID-19 from contact
with known or suspected COVID-19 patients.
* Using a face shield that covers the entire front
(that extends to the chin or below) and sides of
the face, with no face mask.
* Consider using expedient patient isolation
rooms for risk reduction.
* Consider using ventilated headboards.
* Consider using homemade masks (for instance,
bandanas or scarves). CDC observes that this
is a last resort.

These are certainly unprecedented times, but it's
important to remember that these sorts of threats are
omnipresent. It is important to remain vigilant about
respiratory hygiene whether it's a "regular" threat like
the flu or an extraordinary one like COVID-19. It is
important to be consistently mindful of respiratory
hygiene. ■

How to get updates

7.
8.

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

https://www.cdc.gov/fl u/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html
https://www.cdc.gov/fl u/professionals/infectioncontrol/resphygiene.htm
https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/march/
ada-recommending-dentists-postpone-elective-procedures
https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/Open%20Files/ADA_COVID19_
Dental_Emergency_DDS.pdf
https://success.ada.org/en/practice-management/patients/
infectious-diseases-2019-novel-coronavirus
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/face-masks.html

The internet is a great place; it has the potential to
bring people together from all around the world and
freely share information. Unfortunately, not all of that
information is true and accurate. Chat rooms, message
boards and texts between friends and colleagues are
certainly prevalent but not always trustworthy. You
might also be tempted to rely on something posted on
social media. However, those are not reputable sources.
You have to make sure that you get information from
genuine, reliable sources.
Many of the following sites will have general
information about relevant infection control issues, but
they may likely also have information about specific
issues, like COVID-19. [Editor's note: We've added links
to all of the below-mentioned sites in the digital version of
this article at dentaltown.com/magazine.]
Certainly, professional organizations are great places
to start, such as the Organization for Safety Asepsis and

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https://www.cdc.gov/fl https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html https://www.cdc.gov/fl https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/march/ https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/Open%20Files/ADA_COVID19_ https://success.ada.org/en/practice-management/patients/ https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/face-masks.html http://www.dentaltown.com/magazine http://www.dentaltown.com

Dentaltown May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2020