COVID-19 has upended many of the usual routines we all took for granted. This is as true in skilled nursing facilities as anywhere. But as we all continue to adjust to “new normals,” it’s time to re-think a critical health check for our nursing homes’ senior residents: dental exams.
The ADA and CDC agreed that suspending dental care at the beginning of the pandemic was necessary. In fact, the ADA was among the first professional health organizations to recommend suspension of all but emergency care. In a statement issued March 16, they explained their recommendation, saying there was an urgent need to help mitigate the virus’s spread, reduce demand on dwindling PPE supplies and avoid overburdening hospital emergency rooms with patients needing emergency dental treatments.