With dental offices closed to all but emergency care, many people are asking what they should be seen for. Offices have been directed by NORA and the Colorado Dental Association to cancel hygiene, fillings and most routine dental work for at least the next three weeks. Your dentist is likely to see you for trauma, severe tooth aches and especially anything that could put you in the emergency room if left untreated. Every dentist is different, but I would add deep cavities, major tooth fractures, cementing crowns if the temporary is off or anything that makes you unable to function.
Dentists have been instructed to do as little work as possible to buy time. Perhaps for three more weeks, perhaps for much longer. Some patients will receive temporary sedative fillings, antibiotics, taking out only teeth with major infections and even just the first portion of root canal therapy to relieve pressure and pain.
To know what you should do, call your dentist. They may be home or doing limited office hours, so explain your situation, and if you can text a picture, it can help. Together, you can discuss the urgency and options. We at Dillon Family Dental are doing some morning hours by appointment with very limited staff and procedures as are some other offices.
Extra sanitization, no-touch temperature recordings, extra space including waiting in your car for a chair to be immediately available, anything we can do to keep you and our staff safe. The goal is to keep you out of the emergency room and to be as comfortable as possible. I wish you all and the medical teams the very best.