As our patients know, Dr. McGann and the team at McGann Facial Design are passionate about patient safety. The commitment is part of our drive to deliver the best care. We cannot help but think about in the COVID-19 era, how will dentistry change? What is the future of dentistry? Over the coming weeks, we will share with you how we, and other thought leaders, are seeing just how the practice of dentistry is being reshaped. Today, we focus on any patient undergoing any aerosolizing or surgical procedure. In short, this means any procedure where a drill must be employed to deliver the appropriate care. In a directive issued by the San Francisco dental society, a patient must be tested for a current SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection between 0-7 days before the scheduled aerosolizing or surgical procedure .
Directly from the directive, “for patients….undergoing any aerosolizing or surgical procedure, the patient or client must be tested for a current SARS-CoV-2 infection between 0-7 days before the scheduled aerosolizing or surgical procedure (which can be a rapid test, if available, the day of the procedure), with the results being reported to or shared with the Dental Care Service before the surgical procedure if the test is not performed by the Dental Care Service. The test should be performed as close to the day of the procedure as possible. This test is in addition to the screening requirements on the day of the scheduled procedure. A test is not required for other pre- or post-procedure care that does not include an aerosolizing procedure.”
While the practice is not a directive according to the San Diego dental society, we believe it is the safest practice for our patients and have instituted this policy. For more information about our approach to COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 page under the patient resource section of our website. If you have any specific questions about your case and how this may, or may not, affect you, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.
There is no substitute for safety and this will remain our commitment at McGann Facial Design.
