Can someone explain to me why a doctor’s office would ask you to take off a KN95 mask for a disposable blue mask?
Maybe to make things uniform so people won’t argue about other people not having to switch and wear different masks?
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That’s so weird. I will say that, here (MN) if you go to any of the state testing sites for a test, they have you put a blue one OVER whatever mask you are wearing during the time you are there.
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Yeah, both of the above. I’d just put theirs over the top without comment and hold my ground if they said anything about removing the KN95.
(Here, they typically offer we can put it on over the top or instead of.)
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Yeah - when I have been somewhere they make me put a blue one on, it just goes over whatever I already have.
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Because they have a poorly formulated policy that the staff are strictly enforcing without thinking about / understanding the actual situation?
Or maybe there’s a valid reason, but that’s all I’ve got.
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Does anyone have a “best guess” of when Universal might go back to recommending but not requiring masks in all situations? I’m trying to look back at the timing of their previous changes and how they coincided with previous waves. What metrics are they looking at to guide their policy, if anything? Just curious since I’m headed there in about 6 weeks and would like to have a reasonable expectation of what the policy might be at that point.
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I think they have historically been less conservative than the CDC guidelines but I haven’t tracked closely.
Here are the CDC guidelines for what that’s worth.
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My completely wild guess based on history this summer is that they will lift the requirement by the end of February unless the next variant causes a significant follow-up wave.
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I’d be interested if anyone who has kids (or, themselves) have orthodontia during the pandemic has any advice about what might be different / how to stay safe. We’ve been putting of DS15’s braces (which he really needs for a variety of reasons) for 2 yrs now b/c of the pandemic and wouldn’t have thought about it except for now another child has an immediate, undeniable need for braces. So, I’m thinking maybe to just do both at the same time since we’ll be going there a lot anyway. I know from my (1980s) experience having braces that once they get them on most of the appts are very short. Is that still true? Overall I don’t feel that worried but this is something I’d been intending to wait on, except now we can’t wait. However, we do still have the option of waiting more with DS15—except that I just realized that if we wait too long he’d still have them when going to college, and I definitely want this done before then. Wow that crept up on me when I was thinking about the pandemic and not long term about all the other stuff we have to get done. I have no idea what my son’s post high school grad plans might turn out to be yet, so I don’t know if he’d live nearby, etc.
My son has had braces - for what seems like forever - and especially during Covid. I’m actually hoping they’ll come off tomorrow!
Anyway, his appointments have been fast. They alternate - 15 minutes one month and a little longer, maybe 30 - 45 the next. I sit in the car, and (I think) he wears his mask inside unless someone is actively working on his teeth.
Around here, all of the medical staff wear masks, all of the time, so that has never been a concern for me. We do go to a fairly small practice, so there aren’t a lot of other people there at the same time.
Do you have a provider picked out? Maybe you could check out their normal practices and see how comfortable you feel. Our dentist has separate rooms for each patient, but ortho is all in one room.
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My kids had partial braces with an expander before the pandemic. They took a bit to put on, and had molds and such completed over several appointments as a part of it. For follow up appointments, yes they are pretty quick. My kids still go to check in on how their permanent teeth are filling in (they are still losing teeth). One of them is getting a “permanent”retainer because he is about to lose a bunch of teeth at once and they don’t want anything shifting until the permanents come in. He gets that in a couple of weeks. We also go to the dentist and have gone several times since the offices opened back up. We have not had any issues with these appointments. I wouldn’t put it off if your child needs braces.
Everyone wears masks at our ortho and dentist unless their teeth are being worked on.
My GD has braces. Their family is VERY cautious but felt perfectly safe at the orthodontist. Their orthodontist moved the chairs further apart, and has everyone stay in their cars to wait (text them when it’s time to come in) and everyone is masked who is not being worked on.
My personal opinion is that orthodontics is an essential service and should never be delayed for very long - although it seems cosmetic and a luxury, it can cause all sorts of peripheral health issues. If all people are vaccinated, there’s no reason to be overly concerned.
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I had a conversation with my dentist about the risk (albeit pre-omicron). He follows the literature and said transmission traced to dental procedures is really low. They already followed pretty strict procedures, and most have stepped them up since covid.
That said, it does vary from office to office, so I would call and ask the perspective ortho what their procedures are.
My dentist and our pediatric one both require masking by everyone except while procedures are being performed. (I’ve observed desk staff occasionally slip them down if struggling with a phone call, but only temporarily and not while within 6’.)
My dentist also has a HEPA air unit in each exam area (rooms without doors).
Conversely, the first time I took DS17 to the ortho during the pandemic (May 2020), NONE of the office staff were masking at all. At the other extreme, our pediatric dentist was having us wash hands upon entering, giving us a fresh pen to keep when completing paperwork, etc.
I talked to the pediatric dentist staff about the ortho experience (they refer lots of patients there and take their own kids there), and they agreed to have a peer-to-peer discussion. Much better procedures seemed to be in place next time we went.
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I’ll second Susan’s description of tactics, our doctor did the same thing. My daughter had to have an emergency fix of her braces in the Spring the pandemic started - she was nervous but they did a very good job of managing the risks. Since then we’ve been back a few times - always all masked, limited people in at a time, very quick. She got hers off a few months back, no issues.
Parents and I both got our free test kits. Both were BinaxNow brand. No one else we know has received theirs yet though which is weird.
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CONTEXT: Our family has been reasonably cautious. My husband and I have both worked remotely since the pandemic started, but my two kids are attending school in person (last year was a mix of in person and remote, mostly based on the need to quarantine) and masks have been required all year.
We have all seen our regular dentist since May 2020 when they re-opened, and we’ve kept annual physicals, eye appointments, and routine screenings such as my annual mammogram. For me personally, I weighed the potential risks of getting COVID vs. not doing these routine healthcare appointments and decided to get them done. I wear the best mask I have, try to be as quick as possible, cancel and reschedule if someone is not feeling well (like when my son developed a cough and runny nose that after multiple tests was not COVID), and keep my hands clean.
ACTUAL ANSWER: My husband, older son, and I were all fully vaxxed by mid-May, so I decided in July 2021 to move forward with ortho treatment that I need since I was a kid but was never able to afford. We were also prepared to have our 17 year old begin treatment, so he went with me to the initial appointment, but he has since declined (long story, he is a difficult kid). Anyway, our experience with our ortho’s office is that masks have been worn by all staff since I started going in July, and there is plexiglass up at the front counter, and it appears to be kept reasonably clean. They still have patients use a common keyboard to type their name to check in, which I am not a huge fan of, but there’s sanitizer right next to it, as well as throughout the office. They don’t have any chairs blocked off in the waiting room, though there have only ever been two other patients in there at the same time I was, and that was only one time. The treatment room has five or six chairs, but there have never been more than two other patients there at the same time as I was. They had relaxed mask rules to be optional for patients who had been vaccinated, for like a month, but they tightened back up when we had our Delta spike in fall, and they’ve not relaxed them since then. Wearing the mask is not a big deal for me; I’d rather wear a mask than shoes and socks, but I currently wear both in public, and of course, I digress.
At our regular dentist, upon entering, they administer a COVID symptoms questionnaire, take your temperature, and require all to sanitize their hand. Allegedly all staff and patients must wear masks, but twice in the last two months I was in there, twice there were older patients walking around unmasked.
We are looking for a new pediatric dentist for my son, and the place we are looking at has a COVID section on their website. They’ve improved the filtration system, all staff wear masks, they require you to text from your car to check in, and then patients entering are supposed to wear a mask unless they are being worked on. They also limit a child to only one parent to accompany them, I imagine to cut down on the number of people in the office. Anyway, I appreciated the info provided about the air filtration system, and I like text from your car (even if there was no COVID, I would prefer this).
Also, our first ortho appointment took awhile (maybe an hour) because they went over our paperwork, took panoramic x-rays of both of us, reviewed them with us, and wrote treatment plans while we were there. The appointment where they put on my top braces, and the one where they put on my bottom braces also took about an hour each. They change my archwire every 5-6 weeks and those appointments take about 20 minutes.
As others have said, I encourage you to check online to see what, if anything, they have posted on their website, and depending on what you learn, ask what measure or precautions are being taken, as it seems to vary.
If I was at all unclear about anything, which I sometimes am (I ramble) let me know and I can try to clarify.
Good luck in making your decision!
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