COVID-19: Where are we now?
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It seems wild to me that the majority of the news buzz is still about something named after the year 2019. Afterall, it’s the end of 2021. In that time we have changed and adapted, but so too has the virus. So, where does that leave us health professionals and what you can expect at a dental appointment here at Magnolia Dentistry on Market?
In the previous blog on COVID, I chronicled the arduous red tape of getting back safely into the dental office. Most of those precautionary measures are still in effect; we’ve just gotten more accustomed to it.
We are still running our medical grade air purifiers non-stop. We are still going above and beyond with infection control of all of our instruments as well as commonly touched surfaces. We are still screening our patients prior to their appointments for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19. We are still screening ourselves for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19. We are still limiting the number of patients in the office. We are still requiring pre-operative foamy mouthrinse to kill microbes. We are still using high volume suctions as much as possible to limit aerosol production. We are still wearing our N95 masks and faceshields.
This may all sound like a lot. It is. BUT, the good news is that all of it is working! The ADA posted some amazing statistics not too long ago showing that there has been less than 1% COVID-19 transmission in the dental office setting. What’s more, there have been no reported transmissions from a dental healthcare provider to a patient – transmission has been exclusively community based. For us, it’s such a confidence booster knowing our efforts are not in vain, and that we can still confidently say it is SAFE to come to your dental appointments!
We are still closely following all of the state guidelines and the recommendations of the CDC. For patients wondering when we will stop making you wait in your car and masking up before you enter our suite, the answer is not yet. Based on the CDC guidelines, areas with high or substantial transmission rates cannot relax any restrictions yet. Frederick County and Frederick City are on the decline, but we are still in the HIGH transmission category. So, stay vigilant!
In the United States, it appears as though we are recovering from that nasty Delta surge. The trend over the entire U.S. is that COVID-19 cases are declining and the projections show a continued decline through March. I am crossing my fingers and my toes that this may mean we are coming near the end. That our time of isolation and quarantine and masking will come to an end around the 2 year mark, much like the predecessor to COVID-19, the Spanish flu of 1918. Just in time to help us in achieving this goal are more vaccines. All boosters of Pfizer, Moderna and J&J have been approved. You don’t even have to hunt one down. It’s a mix and match approach, so you can just show up and get boosted J Also on the horizon, vaccines for the kids. It’s an exciting time for science. It’s exciting to think about going back to “normal,” whatever that is anymore. There is hope. And when there is hope, we can achieve anything, even flossing every day ;)