It’s the pandemic season, and most of us are worried about catching an infection. The hospitals and clinics across the globe saw a drastic decline in their patient inflow ever since the Novel Coronavirus started its tour.
The same pattern is being observed in dentistry too. Many of the problems including dental issues are being more ignored or due to the fear of COVID, patients are reluctant to visit their dentists. While it is true that the WHO released a statement which mentions that Dentistry is non- essential during the pandemic, it is not completely agreeable to consider dental treatments as completely “non- essential”.
It might not be a good idea to visit your dentist for cosmetic treatments during this time. However, there are quite a lot of situations where treatment is necessary to prevent complications including life threatening situations. Some of such conditions that could be serious and requires you to visit your dentist include:
- Swelling or abscess in the mouth
- Severe pain in the teeth or jaw
- Severe bleeding from the gums
- Pain radiating to other parts of the jaw
- Oral pain with fever, malaise or other illness.
- Inability to open mouth or eat
- Severe bad breath
These conditions may not always indicate any serious disorder, but ignorance and abstaining from getting the treatment at the earliest can lead to undesirable consequences. One should understand that your dentist doesn’t want to catch an infection from his patients just like how you don’t want to get an infection from the clinic. And hence, most of the clinics around you function following all the COVID protocols as per the government recommendations and to assure their patients the maximum safety.
Dental procedures can produce aerosols that can carry the virus in them. However, the researchers have not been completely conclusive about its potential to spread COVID in dental clinics. Usage of antiseptic mouthwashes are found to reduce the number of germs including the Novel coronavirus in the oral cavity to a greater extent. Also, in certain situations, your dentist can perform many procedures without the use of aerosol generating devices which puts you at no or minimal risk of contracting any respiratory infections.
You may contact your dentist to enquire about the safety precautions that they have adopted at their clinics to ensure your safety. Never ignore your problems or suffer the pain for long, make a call to Dr. Aller for an appointment, it’s the new – normal and let’s live with it!