Museum Dental Center COVID-19 Policy
We value our dental patients and assure you that your safety is our priority.
We strive to provide you with quality dental care, while doing our part to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our lives in many aspects. We all share the responsibility of limiting the spread of this disease. As an experienced dentist and health care service provider, Dr. Khalifeh is implementing strict regulations to protect our patients and our staff, at Museum Dental Center our COVID-19 Policy is stated below.
The Museum Dental team adheres to the patient safely precautions and warnings issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Dental Association (ADA), the California Dental Association (CDA), and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) regarding the Coronavirus.
What to expect when you Visit Museum Dental Center During COVID-19
1. The first step toward protecting dental patients at the Museum Dental Center is providing the necessary protection to our team members. We make sure that all staff has Protective Personal Equipment including masks, goggles and face shields per the guidelines of the CDC and the ADA.
2. We’ve conducted special training for our staff on the Covid-19 virus and its transmission.
3. We use high-velocity suction and hand scaling, which are employed in order to limit aerosols when cleaning teeth.
4. Patients with an appointment will be contacted for a required Covid-19 prescreening and precheck-in.
- Do you have a cough?
- Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing?
- Recent loss of taste or smell?
- Fever in the past 14-21 days?
- Do you have any flu-like symptoms, upset stomach, gastrointestinal pain, or headaches?
- Have you come in contact with any COVID-19 positive patients or you yourself-tested positive for COVID-19?
- Traveled on a plane in the past 14 days?
NOTE: Patients that answer yes to any of the above will be required to wait 2 weeks before they are seen.
5. On the day of your appointment, we do ask that you wait outside and you will be greeted by a team member to go over the Coronavirus screening questions again to make sure that there are no changes and your temperature will be recorded using a touchless thermometer. We will not provide any dental service for patients with body temperature over 100F degrees. Please wear a face mask and practice social distancing when you come to the office.
6. Upon your arrival to our office, you will be provided with hand sanitizer to disinfect your hands and will be using disinfected pens to fill out any documents.
7. Please note that we adhere to social distance guidelines in our office. Only the patient is allowed in the treatment room. We ask that any person accompanying the patient to the appointment wait outside.
Questions About Museum Dental Center COVID-19 Policy / Dental Visits and Patient Safety
Is it safe or dangerous to visit the dentist during the Coronavirus?
A October 15, 2020 study conducted and published by the American Dental Association reveals that approximately only 1% of the dentists in all the United States were at one point infected by Coronavirus. Surprisingly, according to the ADA study finds COVID-19 rate among dentists less than 1% , no coronavirus cases were tracked to dental offices yet!
This is much less than the 2.7% prevalence of the Coronavirus overall. This study is reassuring that dental professionals have implemented measures in their dental offices to limit the spread. People can visit a dentist during coronavirus safly. Don’t skip on recieving effective dental care.
New Oral symptoms of Someone who has Coronavirus
What are the oral manifestations of COVID-19?
Patients with Covid-19 infection might develop one or more oral symptoms. These symptoms could be early signs of the disease, and in some cases are the only signs and symptoms of coronavirus infection.
Oral signs and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection include:
1. Dry mouth.
2. Temporary loss of taste that could be permanent in some cases.
3. Tongue ulcers.
4. Mouth rash.
5. Angular Cheilitis (a painful inflammation of the corners of the mouth) that may cause orofacial pain.
6. Herpes Simplex infection (Cold sores).
7. hemorrhage under the oral mucosa.
SOURCE:
Dr. Abanoub Riad, PhD, Oral disease, October 2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971220304471
Scheduling Dental Visits at Museum Dental Center and COVID-19 Risks
Do I need to see my dentist for a cleaning during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes. The greater risk may be not seeing your dentist when you need to. There is solid evidence that gum disease is associated with many health problems. Among the medical problems that were linked to gum disease are: cardiovascular disease and endocarditis, diabetes, pneumonia, pregnancy complications, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, eating disorders and many types of cancer.
Gingival inflammation will increase systemic inflammation, chronic inflammation will produce proinflammatory proteins by the immune system such as Interleukin -6 (IL-6), this is an inflammatory cytokine that can trigger an overactive immune reaction known as cytokine storm. The cytokine storm is considered a major factor in producing severe complications in patients infected by Coronavirus.
It is considered as the main cause of death among COVID-19 patients.
Maintaining good oral hygiene through excellent home care (brushing, flossing, using mouth rinses if needed) and regular visits to the dentist will reduce oral inflammation and protect humans from major health complications produced by increased number of harmful oral bacteria.
Left untreated, periodontitis puts Coronavirus patients at a higher risk.
The August 10, 2020 COVID-19 Patients With Periodontitis Face Greater Risk of Dying report revealed that “Coronavirus patients who have been hospitalized are far more likely to die of respiratory failure if they suffered from periodontitis before contracting COVID-19. The international team of dental researchers behind the report determined that “hospitalized COVID-19 patients with periodontitis IL-6 levels above 80 pg/ml are 22 times more likely to suffer from acute respiratory problems and placed on a ventilator compared to patients with IL-6 levels below 80 pg/ml.”
COVID-19 Virus and Pain:
Is it painful to have the COVID-19 virus?
According to medicalnewstoday.com, animal studies reveal that the virus responsible for Covid-19 infection may cause interruption of the pain signaling pathway. This explains why many patients infected with the coronavirus were asymptomatic. The CDC reported that about 40% of the coronavirus patients have no symptoms. This is dangerous because asymptomatic patients usually carry the disease and spread it to others in a silent way.
The coronavirus invades the human cells by attaching its spike proteins to the ACE2 receptors located on the cell membranes. The coronavirus can invade cells when the spikes attach to another membrane receptor called Neuropilin receptors. These receptors are found to be involved with pain signaling. The coronavirus spike proteins when attached to the Neuropilin receptors, they block the pain pathways.
This suggests that the coronavirus numbs the pain receptors in infected patients to the extent that they feel little or no pain at the beginning of infection. Patients with no pain are less likely to seek treatment until after the disease is advanced and start causing systemic complications. As with your need to go to the dentist, Museum Dental Care urges you to take a proactive and preventative approach to protect your overall health.
Certified by: Dr. Khalifeh, Owner and Orofacial Pain Specialist
DATE: October 28, 2020
Check back to see Museum Dental Center COVID-19 Policy updates.