COVID -19 Coronavirus AUCKLAND FAMILY DENTAL EMERGENCY DENTIST RESPONSE TEAM

Dentist Auckland NZ, Drury

Whilst most dental clinics are closed during the Covid-19 related lockdown our oral health care providers are challenged to meet the demands of emergency dental services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are trying to make phone contact and triaging our patients and if possibly delaying the need for treatment unless urgent or emergency dental treatment.

What is “urgent care” and “emergency” dental treatment?

Patients should have access to dental emergency triage and advice via telephone and should only be seen in person if their pain cannot be controlled by medication, or if they have orofacial trauma requiring urgent management.

“Urgent care” includes treatment for:

• dental or soft-tissue infections without a systemic effect
• severe pain that cannot be controlled by medication or the patient following self-help advice
• fractured teeth or pulpal exposure
• adjustment or repair of dental appliances where patient health is significantly impacted.

“Dental emergencies” include:

• trauma-including facial/oral laceration and/or dentoalveolar injuries, such as avulsion of a permanent tooth
• oro-facial swelling that is serious and worsening
• post-extraction bleeding that the patient is not able to control with local measures
• dental conditions that have resulted in acute systemic illness or raised temperature as a result of dental infection
• severe trismus
• acute infections that are likely to exacerbate systemic medical conditions such as diabetes.

We take pride in our infectious controls.

We have personal protective equipment. Items used for emergency care:

N95/FFP2 masks
Surgical masks
Face shields
Gowns
Gloves
Hand sanitizer