Staying home, social distancing, and wearing a face covering are the best ways to keep yourself and others safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, what should you do if your routine dental checkup and cleaning is coming up? You may be tempted to put it off until later, but health experts warn that could mean serious trouble for your oral health. Read on to find out why and what your Irving dentist is doing to ensure you’re as safe as possible when coming in for your appointment.
The Importance of a Simple Dental Checkup
Your biannual dental checkups involve a lot more than just looking for cavities and polishing up your teeth. At each one, your dentist performs a thorough oral health exam, which includes:
- X-rays to look for issues underneath the gumline, like a hidden abscess or impacted tooth.
- Searching for signs of bad habits like teeth grinding or developing dental damage.
- A gum health check to search for indications of a serious bacterial infection called gum disease.
- An oral cancer screening, which includes inspecting your mouth, jaw, and neck for abnormalities.
While leaving any of these issues can lead to serious permanent damage or extreme discomfort, they can typically be treated successfully if caught early enough.
A Healthy Mouth Can Help Against COVID-19
Since there is no vaccine for COVID-19, the only way to prevent catching it is to practice social distancing. COVID-19 can cause serious, even life-threatening complications for those with underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system. Untreated cavities, broken teeth, or gum disease will slowly get worse with time, which causes your immune system to spend more energy on them. This leaves your body less capable of fighting off viruses like COVID-19.
How Your Dentist Keeps You Safe in the Pandemic
Your Irving dentist cares about your overall wellbeing just as much as your teeth and gums. While they have always been experts in infection control to keep you safe from sicknesses like the common cold and the flu, they have added even more precautions to keep you safe from COVID-19. A few of these include:
- Additional COVID-19 training and adequate personal protective equipment for all team members.
- Sequenced patient scheduling to allow for more time and physical space between appointments.
- Hospital-grade sanitizer, no-touch temperature checks, and antimicrobial mouthwash to ensure every patient is as healthy as possible.
- Thorough disinfecting after every appointment and a deep cleaning of the entire office each night.
- High-speed chairside suction to minimize the spread of aerosols and improve overall air quality.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, but it hasn’t changed the importance of your routine dental checkups. If you choose to visit your dentist in COVID-19, you can feel confident that they’re taking every precaution to keep you and your smile healthy.
About the Practice
At 21st Century Dental & Sleep Center, nothing is more important than the wellbeing of our patients, staff, and the community of Irving, TX. We have always exceeded the sanitation standards set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, but we have elected to add even more measures to safeguard your wellbeing. After careful consideration, we have implemented 20 additional safety protocols to keep our practice as safe, clean, and germ-free as possible. If you’d like to learn more about our Commitment to Safety, we can be contacted via our website or at (972) 255-3712.