First Time Back to the Dentist Since COVID-19
I had a dentist appointment scheduled for a cleaning and checkup during the first week of April. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, my appointment was canceled. They penciled me in for July 1st. And as luck would have it, they were able to resume cleanings a couple of weeks ago.
I arrived at Vestal Dental about three minutes before my appointment. This was good because there was a sign on the door saying please wait until two minutes before your scheduled appointment to enter the building to prevent overcrowding in the waiting room.
Once inside the waiting room, they had six foot markers on the floor leading up to the reception desk. I also noticed that half the chairs were removed and, the chairs that were left were all spaced six feet apart.
When I checked in, they asked me questions such as how I was feeling, if I had been exposed to anyone that tested positive for the Coronavirus, and if I recently visited a Corona virus hotspot. I answered no to all of those questions.
I sat in the waiting room, wearing my mask, for approximately two minutes before being called in to one of the rooms. The dental hygienist already had her mask on when she greeted me, which was different from the last time I was there. She also kept her mask on even after the x-rays and the cleaning were finished which was also different from the last time I was there.
Upon entering the room, she took my temperature (which was 98.1), then she proceeded to go through the coronavirus symptom checklist asking me if I had shortness of breath, a cough, if I felt feverish the last few days, and other questions. Again I answered no to all those questions.
When the dentist entered the room, Nolan, who is actually a friend of mine, he just waved to me instead of shaking my hand like he usually does.
Other than those minor precautionary things, there really was no difference in
going to the dentist since the Cronavirus pandemic outbreak.