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Ver 1.3 August 6 , 2020
DOH GUIDANCE AND PDA ASSESSMENT
On Wednesday , June 3 , 2020 , the Pennsylvania Department of Health ( DOH ) issued REVISED Interim Guidance on COVID-19 for Dental Health Care Personnel in Pennsylvania as part of the commonwealth ’ s phased reopening plan . This revised guidance allows dental health care providers the ability to safely provide oral health care , including routine cleanings , and is effective statewide . This guidance can be read here .
PDA provided a detailed assessment of the revised DOH guidance for all members . PDA ’ s assessment can be found here .
JOINT STATEMENT FROM PDA AND PDHA
Memo to All Pennsylvania Dental Professionals
In light of the very disparate reactions to the Pennsylvania Department of Health ’ s ( DOH ) May 8 guidance for dental health care personnel in Pennsylvania that created a division among many dentists and hygienists in our state , PDA and the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists Association ( PDHA ) have coordinated our efforts on a joint memorandum distributed to all members of both organizations . You can read the PDA / PDHA memo here .
UPDATE TO CDC GUIDANCE FOR DENTAL SETTINGS DURING THE COVID-19 RESPONSE – JUNE 19 , 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Infection ( CDC ) has updated its Guidance for Dental Settings During the COVID-19 Response . A summary of recent changes includes :
The recommendation to wait 15 minutes after completion of clinical care and exit of each patient without suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to begin to clean and disinfect room surfaces has been removed to align with CDC Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) in Health Care Settings .
The time period recommended for patients to inform the dental clinic if they develop symptoms or are diagnosed with COVID-19 following a dental appointment has been changed to 2 days to align with CDC ’ s Interim U . S . Guidance for Risk Assessment and Work Restrictions for Health Care Personnel with Potential Exposure to COVID-19 .
Clarifying language has been added to Engineering Controls .
GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICING DURING COVID-19
4 DOH Guidance , CDC Guidance , PDA / PDHA Memo