As we review what we have learned from other countries and other provinces, it is quite apparent that dental offices will be allowed to open before Covid-19 is eliminated as a risk to patients and health care workers. Reopening our offices will likely be subject to several new requirements that public health agencies will have put in place in addition to all IPAC guidelines. An additional aspect of the new reality will be the much higher risk that your practice may be subject to an inspection by public health. To understand why, it is important to understand the circumstances that trigger inspections of dental offices.
There are two circumstances that result in an IPAC inspection being ordered for a dental office. The first is due to an outside complaint either to RCDSO or Public Health. Prior to Covid-19 this was the most common reason, but relatively rare. The second circumstance is due to the fact that Public Health has an obligation to interview patients when they receive notice of a diagnosis of infections such as HIV, Hepatitis [A,B,C], TB, STDs and some others. It is mandatory for registered health care professionals that diagnose these conditions to report this information to Public Health. Covid-19 has now been included as a mandatory reporting condition.
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