Fixing Dentures & Retainers Among Procedures Allowed At Singapore Dental Clinics After 1 Jun
With ‘Circuit Breaker’ ending on 1 Jun, more medical procedures will gradually resume.
Today (22 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) updated the procedures allowed to include “general dentistry services”, reported TODAY Online.
This comes after a previous announcement on Tuesday (19 May) that most dental procedures would only resume in Phase 2.
Dental clinics must observe strict safe distancing
According to MOH’s newest circular dated 21 May, all dental clinics and practitioners were informed that they could resume services starting 2 Jun.
Patients are advised to adhere to safe distancing measures, queueing 1 metre apart while registering or waiting for their appointment.
Not all dental services will be made available in Phase 1, reports TODAY Online. Currently, only procedures like root canals, fixing crowns and bridges, wisdom tooth removal, making dentures and fitting retainers can take place.
Non-urgent cases like placement of implants after tooth extraction will be deferred to during Phase 2.
For procedures involving general or local anaesthesia and sedation, patients should be referred to the National Dental Centre Singapore, the National University Centre for Oral Health, or public and private hospital dental clinics.
Aerosols to be used minimally
Dentists are to use aerosols minimally, as these increase the risk of transmission, according to TODAY Online.
Urgent and emergency cases should be prioritised, such as treating those who are in pain.
After that, ongoing treatments that were delayed, and other time-sensitive but less urgent cases, can be treated.
Disinfect rooms between patients
MOH also emphasised that dental clinics should allot time between patients to disinfect the entire clinic thoroughly.
They recommended a period of 45 minutes between each patient, if aerosols were used.
If there is no use of aerosols, the recommended period is only 15 minutes.
Dentists are also advised to see patients by appointment only. Crowds should not form inside or outside their clinics.
Patients can finally receive treatment
Previously, there was some backlash as some felt that dental procedures were necessary, especially for those who are in pain.
Those patients can finally receive the treatment they’ve been waiting for after 2 months.
Hopefully, Phase 1 passes quickly and we can move on to Phase 2, and eventually a ‘new normal’ in Phase 3.
Featured image adapted from DoctorXDentist.
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