How to treat dental patients with COVID-19 symptoms: California health department

The California Department of Public Health issued guidelines to dentists April 7 on how to provide emergency care to patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms.

Here are four things to know:

1. Dentists should use the recommended personal protective equipment, including gowns, gloves, eye protection and respiratory protection.

2. For aerosol generating procedures, dentists should perform these treatments in an airborne infection isolation room. Dentists should also wear a powered air purifying respirator with a high efficiency particulate air filter.

3. Dental professionals should perform procedures with minimal aerosol production. If there are no airborne isolation rooms available, procedures should be performed in a private room with a closed door. All personnel should wear surgical N95 respirator masks or industrial N95 masks with face shields.

4. If follow-up care is necessary, dentists should wait to see the patient until the COVID-19 symptoms have resolved and at least seven days since symptom onset.

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