A visit to any place was not the main concern about two years back. However, the current Covid-19 pandemic has made people stay at their homes for a prolonged period. This is mainly due to the viral nature of Covid-19 that gets easily spread through the air.

These viruses settle in the mouth and nose then they spread across the lungs causing serious health issues. It mainly starts with breathing problems, coughing, and fever.

Afterward, it shows different other health issues. A vaccination process has just started that can take a few duration to complete. One such question that arises in many people is, whether going to the dentist during Covid-19 safe? Well, we will look broadly at this now.

What dental issues can arise in an individual?

Different dental issues can arise in the individual that needs proper treatment.

Some of the common dental issues that can arise are:

1. Extreme tooth pain

One of the common reasons when the patient wants to visit the dentist is while suffering from extreme pain in the teeth. The pain is mainly in the decayed teeth or loosened teeth and the patient finds it difficult to get relief from the normal treatment.

2. Root canal treatment

Some patients need to do treatment like a root canal soon to avoid further complications. Here, the patient needs to do the treatment as advised by the dentist.

3. Tooth removal

In some situations, the tooth reaches the stage beyond the treatment due to an increase in the cavity. Here, tooth removal is the only solution for it that has to be done sooner.

4. Gum disease

Neglect of oral hygiene can cause different gum diseases like Gingivitis and Periodontitis. Here, the patient has to immediately treat the early stage of Gingivitis.

5. Removal of dental bridge or crown

In some situations, the dental bridge or crown may break or get removed due to some reasons. Here, it is important to get it fixed at the earliest to ensure proper treatment.

6. Dental Implant

People tend to lose their teeth due to many reasons like decay, trauma, gum disease, bone disease, etc. In order to properly eat, chew and talk, we need our teeth.

So to properly restore a person’s tooth dental implant is one of the options preferred by the Dentists.

Apart from these, there might be other dental reasons too for which a person may have to visit the dentist. It would be tough to decide when to visit the dentist for the treatment.

When to visit the dentist during this pandemic?

• In case a person is suffering through some pain then they can minimize the pain by taking proper medicines. However, if the pain is not tolerable then it is better to visit the dentist.
• In the case of root canal treatment, a person can wait for around 4 to 7 months for getting this treatment. However, if there is more pain in the tooth while eating then visiting the dentist at the earliest is always better.
• In case of tooth removal, visit the dentist only if the tooth is giving more pain or it is loosened that causes pain while eating the food.
• In case of gum disease, it is always better to visit the dentist sooner after realizing the problem of the gum disease. Here, the gum disease at an early stage that is mostly Gingivitis must be immediately treated. Otherwise, the gum disease will go to a later stage of Periodontitis that is difficult to treat and painful.
• If the dental crown, bridge, or any such object gets removed suddenly then it must be informed to the dentist. Here, some of the solutions can be done by the patient under the guidance of the dentist. However, for some complex treatment, a patient has to visit the dentist.

These are some extreme situations where the patient must visit the dentist. However, one of the most important things to look at is whether the dentist office is taking necessary precautions to provide safety from Covid-19 disease.

How to analyse the safety measures at the dental clinic?

In this pandemic, it is important for all doctors and dentists to take necessary care from the Covid-19 point of view.

Here are some of the precautions important in dental clinic:

• Compulsory wearing of the mask to all the staff and the patients.
• Availability of a proper sanitizer in the clinic for safety.
• Cleaning all the dental tools properly while going from one patient to another.
• Checking the temperature of the patient before admitting to the dental office.
• Limiting the number of the person to only one while coming to the dental office.
• Maintaining the social distance norms in the dental clinic.
• The dental staff must be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE).

These are some of the common precautions that the dental clinic must have while taking the patients. Also, the rules laid down by the respective government in the states are important. Many dental clinics are also maintaining the information of the recent traveling done by the patient. During extreme conditions, it can be safe to visit the dental clinic for getting the necessary treatment.