Going to the dentist may not be one of your favorite activities, but a lot of Minnesotans have been waiting weeks to get in, “Our parking lot is now our waiting office,” said Dr. Eric Mintalar, with Mintalar Family Dentists. Not only will they be waiting in their car for their turn, he said there will be a limited number of patients allowed inside.
“That way, we have more time between patients to disinfect, to wipe down, and let the disinfectant do its job.”
He told WCCO’s Dave Lee, they will also be scaling back their schedule for the first two weeks and see how the flow goes,” It’s going to be busy,” he said, “But not as busier as before the virus.
He says they are well supplied when it comes to protective gear and will start adding new patients as the weeks progress. And they are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, and from the American Dental Association, which include the staff. They will have to have their temperature checked before being allowed into the office. Patients are asked a series of questions about their own health before being allowed into the office.
Mintalar called it the new normal.
In a time when personal protective equipment is in dire need, Dr. Mintalar says he is thankful for donations of all kinds during this time.
"It's a tremendous outpouring and, and our frontline brothers and sisters, they need it. In the dental profession, we've had our challenges securing masks, gowns, infection control and PPEs. So I'm glad I'm, I'm happy that they received the equipment."
Mintalar says that their PPE stock is almost full but enough to open their doors today.
