As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state continues to rise dramatically and public health measures to stem the transmission of the virus are implemented at all levels of personal and community interaction, it is critical dental providers secure accurate, reliable and current information regarding practice delivery. Best practice guidelines are changing daily. It is critical all team members involved in the provision of pediatric dental services regularly assess their office policies and practice systems to ensure compliance with general healthcare facility protection protocols from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state directives from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
This morning (March 16, 2020), the California Dental Association issued the following guidance to California dentists:
The California Dental Association strongly recommends that dentists practicing in California voluntarily suspend nonessential or non-urgent dental care for the next 14 days.
After careful deliberation by your Board of Directors, CSPD is endorsing this extraordinary public health recommendation, more information on which is available at https://www.cda.org/Home/News-and-Events/COVID-19-Coronavirus-Updates. CSPD will continue to monitor this evolving public health crisis and will post on our website regular updates. More information on temporary closure of an office during this epidemic may be found at https://www.cda.org/Portals/0/cda-covid19-dental-office-closure.pdf.
Contemporary information relevant to pediatric dental practice from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry may be found at https://mailchi.mp/aapd/latest-from-aapd-on-covid-19?e=5e81797243.
As a membership benefit, CSPD will attempt to answer individual questions regarding appropriate response to this evolving pandemic or direct you to a trustworthy source of information. You may submit your questions to admin@cspd.org.
As pediatric dental specialists we are a strong community, united in a common concern for the best interests of our patients and practice families. Please stay in touch with one another during these challenging times.
Nancy Hsieh, DDS President California Society of Pediatric Dentistry |
Paul Reggiardo, DDS Executive Director California Society of Pediatric Dentistry |