Louisville – State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) wants residents to know that beginning on Monday, May 11, the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) revised its guidelines to limit oral and dental care to emergency and urgent oral and dental care needs. IDPH recommends that oral health providers resume routine oral and dental care consistent with this guidance for minimizing risk of transmission of COVID-19 in an oral healthcare setting.
“This is a positive step in the right direction to get people back to work and get our lives back to normal. There are common-sense ways to do this while still being mindful of those who are vulnerable in our communities like the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions like heart disease and diabetes,” commented Rep. Bailey.
IDPH claims it has monitored the daily number of newly reported COVID-19 cases and with the trend moving downward, there is a need for a plan to resume safe and routine oral and dental treatment.
Previously, offices had been reduced to emergency and urgent services only, due to the droplets and aerosols produced during dental procedures, which are believed to transmit coronavirus from infected people. The droplets may be inhaled between a patient and oral health provider, staff, and other patients in the facility, according to the IDPH website.
The IDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend some precautions for oral health providers including using “airborne isolation rooms” for aerosolization procedures, using techniques to reduce aerosolization, deferring procedures for patients with increased vulnerability to coronavirus, symptom screening, use of PPE and considering risks before performing a procedure.
The full guidelines may be found at the Department of Public Health web site: www.idph.illinois.gov.
