Insider (9/18, Michelson) said, “Yes, it’s safe to go to the dentist.” The article explained that “there has been no evidence of coronavirus transmission in dental offices since many reopened in May,” and dental offices have safety precautions in place to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. “Our first job is to be sure that our patients are safe,” ADA President Chad P. Gehani told Insider. “If we did not think that the patients were safe, we simply would not go to the office at all. We would not have even done the emergency care in the months of March, April, and May.”

To access the ADA’s Return to Work Interim Guidance toolkit, which recommends measures to take to help protect patients, staff and dentists from COVID-19 as dental practices re-engage in providing the full range of oral health care, visit ADA.org/returntowork.

Information for the public on what to expect as dental offices reopen may be found on ADA’s consumer website MouthHealthy.org, and The Journal of the American Dental Association has a “For the Patient” page, Protecting You During Your Dental Visit. And the Patient Return Resource Center offers exclusive resources for ADA members to support dentists in communicating with patients about returning to the dentist.