Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 5

Your COVID-19 Questions Answered Dr. Aaron Burry, leader of the CDACOVID-19 Response Team, public health specialist and associate director of Professional Affairs at CDA, answered some questions fromdentists as the profession returns to practise after the gradual reduction of pandemic-related restrictions. Q Considering increased costs and decreased patient flow, how will we be able to run our practices? Dr. Aaron Burry (AB): The circumstances of operating our practices will be very different in the short, medium and long term. In the next 18 to 24 months, we will be practising dentistry with significant modifications. There has been a lot of impact on the flow, the number of patients, and length of appointments with new protocols while ensuring social distancing. It’s been much harder todowhat we do. The team has been adapting week over week and there are scheduling strategies that can help gradually improve your productivity. Of course, it won’t look and feel like your pre-pandemic practice. What we are all doing at this point is making adjustments as we incorporate what we are learning. Everyone from your fellow dentists to your provincial dental association (PDA) to CDA are working toward adapting best practices, both clinically and on the business side. Q What kind of financial adjustments can be made? AB: That’s a big part of the discussion. Teledentistry, for example, which many of us are doing more of, is becoming an indispensable tool to screen and plan dental visits and some insurance carriers have modified their plans to include reimbursement for this service. The PDAs will have challenging times ahead as they evaluate where and how to make changes in the suggested fee guide structures to take into considerations the new realities. CDA approved new USC&LS codes that describe enhanced PPE requirements, that are part of many provincial guidelines. I think there are a few relatively simple and inexpensive things that we can do. We can ask patients to rinse with hydrogen peroxide for 60 seconds. Hydrogen peroxide is inexpensive and there are some commercial preparations that are flavoured and are also reasonably priced. N95 respirators and level 3 surgical masks are going to remain challenging to stock and are quite expensive right now, but they should become more affordable as domestic production begins (hopefully during the summer for level 3 and early this fall for N95 respirators). We can invest in reusable gowns instead of disposable gowns. One thing I’m looking seriously at is installing a washer and dryer in the clinic to try to be as self-sustaining as possible. I use scrubs; they are our standard gear and easy to process ourselves. Face shields are made by various manufacturers; the ones that we typically use have a plastic lens that can be switched Dr. Aaron Burry We can invest in reusable gowns instead of disposable gowns. One thing I’m looking seriously at is installing a washer and dryer in the clinic to try to be as self‑sustaining as possible. 18 | 2020 | Issue 5 CDA at W ork