AUSTIN, Texas -- As businesses gear up for reopening in the coming weeks, many acknowledge they'll need to change protocols for the sake of safety.
- Austin Family Dentist planning to reopen
- Will have social distancing safeguards in place
- Personal protective equipment for staff also a priority
That's the case at Austin Family Dentist, which plans to reopen for certain procedures on May 11. The practice has been seeing some patients recently but only for emergency procedures.
“Basically try and keep patients out of the emergency room - so doing severe pain, infections, anything like that but basically the treatment right now is limited to root canals and extractions,” said owner Brian Tucker.
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Starting on May 11, however, staff at the office will gradually begin to see more patients, but patients can expect a slightly different process.
“Before the appointment we’ll be screening on the phone. We’re going to limit the amount of patients in the waiting room, and once they come to the office we’re gonna do some interview screening there - taking temperatures on all patients. We’re going to be eliminating all items such as toys, magazines and books from the waiting room,” said Tucker.
Guests aren’t the only ones who can expect to see protocol changes. Tucker says staff safety will also be a priority.
“Our first concern for our staff is to make sure everyone feels safe, comfortable and confident coming back to the office - with our increased PPE, letting them know the extra protocols we have in place. We’re well aware that dental assistants and dental hygienists are at occupational risk for COVID-19 so we’re taking all of these extra steps to make sure that we provide them a safe work environment,” he said.
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The Texas Dental Association says it will continue to monitor the pandemic and how it might impact dental care providers.