On March 27, 2020, the CDC came out with a new recommendation for "dental facilities postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits, and prioritize urgent and emergency visits and procedures now and for the coming several weeks."
Also, on March 26, 2020, the CDC related Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Dental Settings During the COVID-19 Response, which also includes the recommendation to postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits. The recommendations also recommend contacting patients prior to urgent/emergency dental treatment to screen the patient for respiratory illness over the phone. If the patient is showing symptoms of a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, then dental health care providers and medical providers “should work together to determine the appropriate facility for emergency treatment.”
For those that have had COVID-19, a person should have completed home isolation clearance before receiving emergency care, which is defined as:
- At least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms, e.g., cough, shortness of breath), and at least 7 days have passed since symptoms first occurred.
OR
- For individuals with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who have not had any symptoms, at least 7 days have passed since the date of the first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test and have had no subsequent illness.