Omicron Variant & Oral Health: Should You Skip Your Dentist’s Appointment?

Since its discovery in late 2021, the COVID-19 Omicron variant has spread rapidly and caused havoc in many dental facilities as they try to restore services.

While we still don’t know everything about the strain, here’s what we do know:

• Spreads: more quickly than the other COVID-19 variants. You can infect other people even when you’re vaccinated.

• Illness: is less severe than the other COVID-19 variants. However, some cases are severe and may need hospitalization.

• Symptoms: has the same symptoms as the other COVID-19 variants. However, the severity of the symptoms will depend on other factors, such as your age.

How Omicron Is Affecting Dentistry and Oral Health

Omicron has hurt the dentistry and oral health industry. Even before the omicron variant, about 75.9 percent of dentists had at some point during the pandemic stopped their practice because of the potential spread of COVID-19 in their offices.

Typically, you will get the virus if you come into contact with an infected person’s droplets. And it is more likely to happen if you are in close contact with such a person. Dental treatments require you to be close to the dentist, and the procedures are also aerosol-generating.

Such risks prompted a World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that dentists stop providing dental treatment during the pandemic, limited to emergency complaints.

Should You Skip Your Dental Appointment Because of Omicron?

While dental care is necessary, the declaration by the WHO did alarm many people about making a trip to the dentist. That’s because a visit to the dental chair places you in close contact with other people, and various dental procedures can induce aerosol production. These conditions are perfect for spreading the Omicron variant.

However, proper precautions can allow you to keep your dental appointments in spite of Omicron. 

The American Dental Association and the CDC have placed measures that will mitigate the spread of the virus during your dental visits, including:

• Air filtration devices that limit the spread of aerosols

• Standard precautions such as hand washing before any dental procedure

• Reduced the number of health providers tending to you 

• Clean the surfaces with EPA approved disinfectants

• Space out the dental appointments

• Take X-rays of your oral cavity externally rather than internally

If you test positive for the virus, postpone the appointment until you test negative. You should also inform your dentist if you present with COVID-19 symptoms within 14 days after your dental visit.

New Requirements for Dentists Safety

Like other health professionals, dentists are at a high risk of contracting the virus. That’s why health organizations have come up with requirements to protect dentists in their places of work, which may change depending on the level of community transmission:

• Use of teledenistry

• Use of personal protective equipment

• Updated safety precautions