ATLANTA — While her daughter’s condition didn’t rise to the level of an emergency, Amanda Weishar was certain the 6-year-old needed immediate medical attention. Two permanent teeth had erupted in Rosie’s mouth, crowding her baby teeth, but no dentist was available to see her.
The issue could have been easily addressed during the child’s routine dental exam. But the visit had been put on hold since thousands of Georgia dentists were ordered to shutter their businesses except for emergencies to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“It was really frustrating,” the Alpharetta mother said. “I was concerned.”
Now, as dental offices across Georgia reopen and families like the Weishars try to make up for skipped cleanings and routine procedures, they will likely be greeted by a dental staff in an office that looks far different from the days before COVID-19. It might become commonplace, for example, for dentists to be dressed in what looks like space suits, and their dental hygienists to use only hand instruments to remove plaque. Barriers that separate treatment areas could be replaced by walls that help prevent the cross-contamination of patients.
However, dental offices across the U.S., and in states like Georgia, won’t be prepared anytime soon to meet even the minimum requirements and stringent infection control procedures set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.