Key Concepts
- Dental settings have unique characteristics that warrant additional infection control considerations.
- Postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits, and contact patients prior to emergency procedures. Stay at home if sick and know steps to take if a patient with COVID-19 symptoms enters your facility.
Recommendations
Postpone Elective Procedures, Surgeries, and Non-urgent Dental Visits
Services should be limited to urgent and emergency visits only during this period of the pandemic. These actions help staff and patients stay safe, preserve personal protective equipment and patient care supplies, and expand available health system capacity.
This recommendation aligns with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Adult Elective Surgery and Procedures Recommendationspdf iconexternal icon, which states to limit all non-essential planned surgeries and procedures, including dental, until further notice.