Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1357945
16 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 2021 NO. 2 QUALITY & INFECTION CONTROL ADA to Biden team: Prioritize these 7 oral health measures in first 100 days By Katie Adams D entists across the country had to reshape their offices and practice protocols when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year. Now, with the vaccine rollout in full swing, some dentists are thinking about what pandemic procedures they want to continue. Here are the practices four dentists told Becker's they would keep in place: Note: Responses were edited for style and clarity. Charles Schlesinger, DDS. Comfortable Dentistry 4U (Albu- querque, N.M.): During this pandemic, our offices, like all of dentistry, had to radically rethink our daily practices to comply with CDC, ADA and local health board guidelines, but to also offer the best protection for our patients and our staff. [Person- al protective equipment], disinfection protocols and the use of technology were immediately implemented in order to comply with health and practice orders. With regard to PPE, we will continue to carry on with gowns and head coverings long after the pandemic passes. The extra steps we now take to decontaminate above and beyond what we were already doing will continue to be a part of how we keep every- one safe within our practices. On the technology side, we were able to completely eliminate paperwork that we had before. All of our forms that patients must fill out, from medical history to HIPAA, are now digital. We can send them to the patients via email or text and once filled out, they immediately upload to their charts. Also, we have dig- ital consent forms. If a patient comes in and then needs to sign a consent for a new procedure, we send it to their phone and they can easily initial and sign right there in the chair. Basically, we have eliminated cross-contamination and the use of paper that could be contaminated with aerosols but traveling from the back to the front office. All of the changes we have instituted have allowed us to be more efficient and provide the safety our patients expect and deserve. Elizabeth Goldman, DDS. Texas Redbud Dental (McKinney, Texas): We will definitely keep the face shields and surgical caps long-term. Our increased awareness of splatter and aerosol has made us appreciate the protection they provide. We also creat- ed a cute "prize board" for our young patients, where all the little rewards are individually bagged and clothespinned to a deco- rated foamcore board. It looks so much neater and is quicker than digging through a jar of prizes. Carol Aiken, DDS, a dentist in Boston: We plan to continue many of the protocols that we adopted during this pandemic. We will continue wearing PPE, using [high-efficiency particulate air]/UV light sanitation, and using extraoral suction during aero- sol-generating procedures. We will medically prescreen, espe- cially for COVID-19 status, including vaccination status. Rhnea Taylor, DMD, a dentist in Newport, Ky.: I had gotten away from a waterproof barrier gown for all procedures and started wearing them again along with a face shield. I also wear scrubs and change clothes at the end of the day. n Unlicensed 'fashion braces' trending in Atlanta, may be dangerous By Gabrielle Masson F ashion braces" are a cheap and unlicensed dental treat- ment trending in Atlanta, reported CBS affiliate WGCL-TV. The colorful braces come with no guarantee to actually help with teeth alignment. Dozens of Instagram pages across Georgia show unlicensed workers offering to do the pro- cedure at a low rate. Several Atlanta listings call the proce- dure nonrefundable. In some cases, the total cost is as low as $300, reported WGCL-TV. On each social media page, the workers note that they aren't licensed dentists or orthodontists. "[There] are reports of these fashion braces coming off while people are sleeping and patients actually choking or even aspirating them," said Paul Trotter, DMD, an orthodontist in Georgia. "If you move the teeth in the wrong direction, they might move outside the bone that actually holds them in your mouth. You could end up losing a tooth." n