InTouch with Southern Kentucky July 2020 | Page 26

IN TOUCH
Health
CALEB LOWNDES I CJ
Dr. Brandi Prather’s office will look a little different when you go back for an appointment. With areas now being
covered with plastic barriers and chairs are six feet apart, The staff are doing their best to maintain social
distancing and follow guidelines set by the CDC.
The challenges of dental care
during a pandemic
BY JANIE SLAVEN
COMMONWEALTH JOURNAL
After dentist offices were asked
to close down due to the novel
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
they have finally been able to
reopen after two months.
While the government may not
have seen dental care as essential
business, especially since the
practice doesn’t lend itself to
telehealth, many dentists and
orthodontists will tell you how
quickly a non-urgent case can
become urgent.
After dentist offices were allowed
to reopen in late May, offices were
faced with an equally difficult
situation: how to reopen, and see
patients, while being safe and
careful during the continuing
pandemic.
“There have been many changes
in reopening to comply with the
new guidelines,” Dr. Brandi Prather
said. “Some are suggestions and
some are requirements, but I’m
ultimately going to do my best to
make my patients and staff as safe
as possible.”
The pediatric dentist has
implemented an “in car/phone”
check in at her Somerset office.
26 • In Touch with Southern Kentucky July 2020