OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — With hygiene changes in place, more and more dental officers are opening back up. Eighty percent of endodontists are now seeing patients, but not everyone is still comfortable making that appointment.
If you do feel nervous about heading into a dental office, there are things you can do before you ever arrive to make sure your visit will be one you feel comfortable with. When calling to make that appointment, ask questions about their safety procedures.
"When you walk in, you should see the staff wearing masks, you should see them continually wiping down surfaces and many should have you wait in your car and call you on your cell phone to let you know the person ahead of you has left the office," says Dr. Alan Gluskin D.D.S., President, The American Association of Endodontists.
If you do have severe tooth pain, it is not something you want to ignore. Specialists have tools that can help with social distancing.
"They are looking at your tooth through a microscope, we can magnify up to 10 to 20 times what is going on inside the tooth," said Gluskin. "Most of us are able to take 3-D imaging. The x-rays are not put in your mouth, it is taken around your face so that keeps us away from you. We also use a rubber dam to protect us from breathing on you."
Things can also get pretty ugly, and it will make it much more difficult in trying to save your tooth.
What we did as kids still holds true today: brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing after every meal.
If the pain is really bad, do not head to the emergency room at the hospital. They need to concentrate on patients with medical emergencies. An endodontist receives an additional 2-3 years of training and can quickly identify the problem and treat your pain.
To find an endodontist, visit findmyendodontist.com.
