Is it safe to go to the dentist now?

COVID19 has been a crazy time for all Australians, but we're getting through it quite well compared to many other countries.

One of the challeneges I've faced during this time are the regularly scheduled services that have been out of actions.

A few days ago a reminder went off in my phone to book in for a dental check up.

But is it safe to go to the dentist now? I decided to do some research....

According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA), dental practices already operate with a high degree of health protection. However, all of the staff will follow the government's guidelines, which will include the wearing of appropriate PPE equipment, social distancing measures, and regular use of hand sanitizer and hand washing.  Here's the official statement:

Australian dental practitioners have the highest infection control standards in the world and the safety of their patients and their teams is a cornerstone of Australian dental practice. Dentists are now at ‘Level 1’ restrictions; this means where appropriate, dentists may take extra precautions, and if required you will be advised of these. - ada.org.au

That's reassuring. I noticed my dentist seems to always have plenty of PPE on when I go there, so it didn't come as a surprise to hear that Aussie dentists have some of the strictest regulations in the World. So these reductions to Level 1 Restriuctions means that dentists are almost back to normal. Here's the full explainer for how the levels work: https://www.ada.org.au/Campaign/COVID-19/Managing-COVID-19/Practice-Resources/Dental-restriction-Levels/ADA-dental-restriction-levels-in-COVID-19-Publishe.aspx I've always tried to keep my home a cavity-free zone, so I'll need to book in the kids for a check-up too. I'm so grateful that children (under 18 years old) can access free public dental services in NSW. All children seen by public dental services receive the same high quality care regardless of their eligibility for CDBS and no fees are charged, even if CDBS benefits have been fully used up.
Shoutout to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) ✌️
This article was first published on June 24, 2020 at 05:46PM at http://www.corelmag.com/2020/06/is-it-safe-to-go-to-dentist-now.html