With schools, stores, gyms, bars, and restaurants shut down for the near future, you might wonder: Should I take my child to the dentist? If it’s not an emergency dental procedure, the smartest thing to do is reschedule.
COVID-19, which is now deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and infections have been reported in 151 countries, including the U.S. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in animals and people, causing the common cold or more serve illnesses, such as SARS and MERS. The American Dental Association is following government and local authorities’ recommendations regarding the containment and prevention of COVID-19, the new coronavirus.
“If urgent dental treatment is necessary, dentists and patients’ medical providers should work together to determine the appropriate precautions to take on a case-by-case basis and decide whether the dental facility is an appropriate setting to provide necessary services to the potentially infectious patient, as dental settings are not typically designed to carry out all of the transmission-based precautions recommended for hospital and other ambulatory care settings,” according to the CDC.
“As health care professionals, it is up to dentists to make well-informed decisions about their patients and practices. The ADA is committed to providing the latest information to the profession in a useful and timely manner.”, ADA.
As of March 16, 2020, there have been 3,487 cases in the U.S., according to the CDC. As of March 16, 2020, there have been 167,511 cases globally, according to the World Health Organization.
Here at Hersch Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, we have decided to immediately close our office do to COVID-19.
