Dentists adopt stricter hygiene measures to ensure safety amidst COVID-19

Receptionists and clients are protected via the installed sneeze guards

In wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana, the careful sanitization of dental practices has become integral to ensuring the safety, according to dentists.

Both Dr Ian Jagan, of the Jagan Dental Centre, and Dr Theodora Madekurozwa, the founder and Managing Director of Smile Guyana Dental Clinic, told Sunday Stabroek that the safety of their clients and staff is priority when continuing operations as COVID-19 continues to spread.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that dentists, hygienists, and other oral care providers have a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 and passing it to patients because “they are in close contact with their patients’ mouths, use spray-generating equipment that produces airborne particles, [and] are exposed to saliva, blood and body fluids.”