COVID-19 Information for Patients and the Public
Resources
This page contains updates and FAQs to help inform patients and the public of what to expect from oral health care professionals throughout the course of the pandemic.
View the COVID-19 FAQs for Dental Patients >>
The four oral health colleges have published a joint guidance document to ensure patients know what to expect when visiting a dental office during the pandemic. Read the document at the link below:
Updates
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Today the Provincial Health Officer issued an order requiring certain health professionals be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 26, 2021.
CDSBC interprets the Order to mean that, in time, all of our registrants will be required to be vaccinated to provide health care or services in BC. You can read the Order at the link below:
HOSPITAL AND COMMUNITY (HEALTH CARE AND OTHER SERVICES) COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS INFORMATION AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES – OCTOBER 14, 2021 >>
This Order to be vaccinated by October 26 is directed to health care employers (i.e. Regional Health Boards, the Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Providence Health Care, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and operators of Provincial Mental Health Facilities), their employees, contractors, subcontractors, and health professionals who work for them.
Section L on page 17 of the Order includes a broad “Notice to Health Professionals," which states: |
"TAKE NOTICE that in accordance with further direction from [the Provincial Health Officer (PHO)], health professionals to be determined by [the PHO] and their staff, not otherwise required to be vaccinated under the Residential Care COVID-19 Preventive Measures Order or this Order, will be required to be vaccinated by a date to be determined by [the PHO] in order to provide health care or services in the Province."
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We understand that you and your patients will have questions about how the Order applies to the provision of dental care, and we commit to providing more information as soon as it becomes available.
To quote from the Order, “the public health and health care systems are currently experiencing severe stress, and are stretched beyond capacity in their efforts to prevent and respond to illness resulting from the transmission of COVID-19 in the population." It goes on to say that “an unvaccinated person who provides health care or services in a hospital or community setting, puts patients, residents, clients, staff, and other persons who provide health care or services at risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2, and constitutes a health hazard under the Public Health Act."
CDSBC stands with the other BC health regulators in supporting the Office of the Provincial Health Officer and the Ministry of Health. Compliance with all applicable PHO orders, directives and recommendations is an expectation of every registrant of CDSBC.
We recognize that the vast majority of registrants are already taking the responsibility to help eliminate COVID-19 in our communities by getting vaccinated yourselves and diligently following COVID-19 prevention practices at work.
Please note that this Order does not apply to:
- A place to which the Residential Care Vaccination Status COVID-19 Information Order and the Residential Care COVID-19 Preventive Measures Order apply.
- The First Nations Health Authority, First Nations Health Service Organizations, Treaty First Nations, the Nisga'a Nation, the Métis Nation of BC, or to health care, personal care, home support or other services provided or funded by one of those bodies.
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You may have heard Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s announcement that dentists and dental hygienists are now among the health professionals who may participate in B.C.’s mass vaccine campaign (dental therapists were later added to the order). At this time, we do not have reason to believe that vaccinations will take place within private dental offices.
A new public health order issued on February 23 expands the number of health professions who are able to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to include dentists and dental hygienists. This order was made to help the province prepare for widespread mass vaccinations that will be taking place at sites around the province as more vaccine becomes available.
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As B.C. continues in phase 3 of the government’s COVID-19 response, the interim guidance document for oral health care providers has been updated to ensure patients continue to receive safe and timely care. The Updated guidance document was published and provided to CDSBC registrants on Tuesday, August 18. Read the updated document at the link below:Oral Health Care During Phases 2 and 3 of the COVID-19 Response (August 18, 2020)A comparison document showing markup of changes between May 15 and August 18 guidance documents is available here. Key updates in this version include: - Revised patient and staff screening protocols
- Increased detail related to screening for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 positive patients and patients vulnerable for severe expression of COVID-19
- Updated personal protective equipment (PPE) for patients and providers (including a table outlining PPE by procedure and COVID-19 status of patient)
- Precautions for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
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While there is no evidence of increased risk of COVID-19 infection when being seen for dental treatment, interim guidance for reduction of any potential risk have been recommended for all oral health professionals. As a result, your dental experience will likely be different from what it was before the pandemic.CDSBC's expectations for registrants during the pandemic are aligned with the guidance and requirements provided by the BC Centre for Disease Control, the Office of the Provincial Health Officer, the Provincial Infection Control Network and WorkSafeBC.What to expect when visiting a dental officeA public-friendly version of the interim guidance document for oral health care providers has been created to help patients understand what to expect when seeking dental care.Guidance for Patients: What to expect when visiting a dental office during the COVID-19 pandemic >>Key pointsOffice protocols are developed based on the best available evidence. - This document outlines what to expect before, during and after your appointment with respect to the questions you will be asked, changes to how the dental office functions, and other changes related to COVID-19 in the following areas:
- Pre-screening before scheduling an appointment
- On arrival
- During your appointment
- After your appointment (payment and exit from the office)
- Because of the continuing circulation of COVID-19 in B.C. there are additional precautions in place.
- Dental offices will continue with standard infection prevention and control practices, but will make physical adaptations within the dental office, and have enhanced hand hygiene and office cleaning, while assessing droplets and spatter that occur during for specific dental procedures.
- If you have questions or concerns about changes to your dental office you are encouraged to ask your dentist.
Patient Safety
Standards and guidance have always been in place to make dental care safe.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our registrants (certified dental assistants, dental therapists and dentists) have the same obligation as always: to maintain the standards of practice of the profession. They must:
- Maintain infection and prevention and control (IPAC) procedures in their offices. The routine precautions outlined in CDSBC's IPAC Guidelines (PDF) were designed to prevent the transmission of potential pathogens, and have been shown to be effective over several decades.
- Follow the interim guidance provided to B.C.'s regulated oral health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance is being updated as the situation evolves.
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As Premier Horgan announced, the week of May 19 is the start of the transition to phase 2 of the government’s COVID-19 response. This includes the expansion of community-based healthcare services, such as dentistry, under enhanced protocols. Expectations and guidance were provided to CDSBC registrants on Friday, May 15 regarding this transition. You can read it here: www.cdsbc.org/about-cdsbc/news/covid-19/expansion-of-dental-care-in-phase-2 [/accordion]
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Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has
provided her expectations for all health professionals to deliver the best and safest care during this evolving crisis. As with all health professionals, dental professionals are:
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expected to deliver emergent, urgent and essential care – and to use their best judgment and guidance from their regulator to make those decisions
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expected to maintain physical distancing of two metres
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encouraged to provide care via telephone and video technology
CDSBC recognizes that patients should receive necessary dental care in order for their own health and safety and also to lessen the burden on the hospital system. We have
provided recommendations to assist dental professionals in their decision-making, and there is no expectation to provide treatment to patients unless it is safe to do so.
As the regulator for dentistry, our primary concern is that the public is being protected. Our role is to conduct a fair and transparent investigation of each complaint we receive, and to take timely and appropriate action in the event that patients and the public have been put at risk. Complaints are resolved under the direction of our Inquiry and Discipline Committees, both of which include members of the general public. In all cases complainants are informed of the outcome of our investigations.
Dr. Chris Hacker
Registrar/CEO, CDSBC [/accordion]
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The BC Centre for Disease Control and the Public Health Agency of Canada, the World Health Organization, and other agencies are monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and have published information for both healthcare practitioners and the public. BC Centre for Disease Control has information for the public available in multiple languages here. This information is being updated regularly.Symptoms of the virus are similar to other illnesses, including the flu and common cold (cough, sneezing, fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing).Anyone in B.C. who is concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1. [/accordion]
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BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC):
Public Health Agency of Canada information line: 1-833-784-4397 [/accordion]
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The BCCDC has shared recommendations related to unproven therapies for COVID-19:
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[accordion title="Pacific%20Dental%20Conference%20Notification"]Attendees of the 2020 Pacific Dental Conference, were directed to stop providing all dental care immediately, including emergencies, until March 22, 2020, per the March 16 announcement from the Provincial Health Officer, and CDSBC's message to all registrants that same day.
Anyone who attended the 2020 Pacific Dental Conference, has completed self-isolation and has not tested positive for COVID-19 infection or shown signs or symptoms of COVID-19 infection may return to practice as of March 22, 2020. [/accordion]
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It is appropriate for CDSBC registrants to direct patients to a trusted source for more information or assessment of their personal situation.- In BC, the recommended source of COVID-19 vaccine information is the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) website.
- The Immunize BC website has FAQs for patients.
- If more information is needed, or if the patient/client has medical questions or concerns about COVID-19 immunization in relation to their personal medical condition, these are best answered by their primary health care provider.
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[accordion title="I%20received%20an%20additional%20COVID-19%20charge%20on%20my%20dental%20bill.%20Is%20this%20approved%20by%20the%20College%3F"]CDSBC does not recommend or set specific fees for dental treatment.
CDSBC expects dental offices to communicate all estimated fees to patients before providing treatment. The discussion of cost prior to treatment is, and always has been, an important part of obtaining informed consent from a patient, along with a thorough discussion of any risks, benefits, and options.
Individual dentists in BC and across Canada set their own fees based on their assessment of the costs of delivering care (which may include the cost of personal protective equipment). Fees may vary between offices, so it would be appropriate for anyone with a concern about fees to discuss the matter directly with the dentist. [/accordion]
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You can use one or both of the provincial government resources below:- COVID-19 self-assessment tool available at https://covid19.thrive.health/
- Dedicated 1 888 COVID19 phone service for information about COVID-19
This includes the latest information on travel recommendations and social distancing, as well as access to support and resources from the provincial and federal governments. British Columbians can reach service representatives seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., by calling 1 888 COVID19. Information is available in more than 110 languages.
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Archived FAQ
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On March 23, 2020, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued an update addressed to all regulated health professionals in BC. Health professionals were asked to limit delivery of in-person services in community settings and this message remains current, despite the recent discussion of lifting some of these measures at a future date. To be clear, the message from the Provincial Health Office continues to be that “all non-essential and elective services involving direct physical contact with patients and clients should be reduced to minimal levels, subject to allowable exceptions, until further notice.” Regulated health professionals are encouraged to provide services via telephone/video where possible.Timelines of when non-urgent in-person care can resume remain unknown and this direction will be provided by the Provincial Health Officer at the appropriate time. In the meantime, stay the course, limit in-person services to patients who require urgent care that cannot be delivered via telephone/video, and continue to consult the CDSBC website for up-to-date information.We are all looking forward to being able to receive healthcare services again. But as Dr. Henry and Minister Dix said on April 22:“We have been clear from the outset, we are taking a whole-province approach and we need every individual, every business and every community to do that same. We cannot afford to have any weakness in our firewall that will result in a surge in new cases. To ease restrictions, we need a continued decline in both the number of new cases and the number of outbreaks. Until we clear that important hurdle, we can’t begin to make changes.”The College has struck an expert COVID-19 Response working group to develop practice guidance for registrants should restrictions on physical distancing be lessened over the next few months.[/accordion]
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We did not require dental offices to close, but many effectively did because the requirement for physical distancing of at least two metres applies to oral health care professionals.CDSBC has echoed the expectations from the Public Health Officer, and has strongly recommended that dental offices reduce all elective and non-essential care to minimal levels.For in-person dental care, we expect that any dental care that doesn’t need immediate attention would be deferred with proper follow up. If the patient’s needs can be managed over the phone or via video technology, we encourage dentists to do so. For example, the dentist may determine that a prescription for antibiotics or pain medication is appropriate.Dentists are being asked to provide essential and emergency dental care to patients. This is to avoid negative outcomes for patients and to reduce the burden on the hospital system. That said, CDSBC does not expect any dental professional to provide treatment in person unless it is safe to do so for both patients and the dental team. This requires a risk assessment and adherence to existing infection prevention and control protocols, which set out the minimum requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE). The dentist may use enhanced PPE if, in their professional judgment, it is appropriate to do so.This information is a summary only. Full details can be found under “Recommendations & Expectations for Clinical Care in the COVID-19 Pandemic.”[/accordion]
[accordion title="Why%20hasn%E2%80%99t%20CDSBC%20shut%20down%20all%20dental%20offices%3F%20(March%202020)"]CDSBC does not have the legal authority to require dental offices to close. Our role is to alert our registrants that they must be in compliance with direction from the Provincial Health Officer and other government and public health directives.
We are strongly recommending that elective and non-essential dental care be suspended during this time.
Finally, dental team members are part of the front line of healthcare. Shutting down patient care is not a helpful measure, as oral healthcare providers are in a good position to provide advice, screen, and care for those who need care.[/accordion]
[accordion title="I%20have%20a%20dental%20emergency%2C%20but%20my%20dentist%E2%80%99s%20office%20is%20closed.%20Is%20my%20dentist%20obligated%20to%20treat%20me%3F%20(March%202020)"]Dentists are required to manage their patients when, in their professional judgment, there is a dental emergency. This may or may not involve active treatment being provided by the dentist.
All dental offices should have an emergency number for patients to reach a dentist. It is possible that your situation can be managed with over-the-phone instructions and/or a prescription.[/accordion]
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