Covid-19 effect: Dentists see dip in number of patients

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 9

As dentists face highest risks from Covid-19, among other medical specialists, most of them are still asking their patients to follow telemedicine service or avoid coming to their clinics till there is a need of immediate intervention.

From taking patient history to ascertain there is no contact with a Covid case to wearing PPE kits, face shields, masks, repeated sanitisation of dental chairs and multiple processes for sterlisation of instruments, dentists say that their working has become longer, hectic and more costly.

The doctors have said while 50 per cent patients were still avoiding to take treatment, they were not telling 25 per cent of the remaining patients to put off their treatment for the time being as there seemed no emergency. As a result, they were attending to only 25 per cent patients than previous numbers. Also, most dentists have been taking only one session in the morning and not attending to patients in the evening.

Dr Jagdeep Goyal, a Jalandhar-based dentist, says: “Though we opened up in May, we were only handling emergency cases and just sort of giving them first aid. Even now, most of us are taking cases only in the first half of the day as we need to sanitise the clinic completely which takes a lot of time. Even between two cases, we need to sanitise the dental chair and all gadgets. We also have to maintain a big time gap between two appointments. Also, we need to take patient history about his travel, any cases in family and neighbourhood to be doubly sure, etc. Hence, clearly we can attend to a few patients in the such conditions.”

Dr Gurpal Singh, president of the Nawanshahr unit of the Indian Dental Association, says: “As per the protocol of the Dental Council of India, we have to follow a long list of precautionary measures to keep ourselves as well as our patients safe. As of now, we are not doing some procedures, including scaling and tooth filling. We are avoiding RCTs and doing it only on patients who are not getting relief by analgesics and antibiotics. All such procedures generate aerosols, which as per the guidelines have to be avoided. Since I and my assistants wear PPE kits, we are attending to patients in one longer session only. Other than thermal screening, we are also checking the oxygen saturation level of all patients entering our clinics. Even in the clinic, we have to ensure proper cross-ventilation. Our instruments have to be sterlised by chemical methods, in ultrasonic cleaners, autoclaves and UV chambers.”