One third of Quebec’s dentists won’t be ready to reopen to patients on Monday: survey

After a full third of the province's dentists reported that they won't be ready to reopen on Monday, the Quebec Order of Dentists said it will hire ventilation experts to help its members get up and running.

A survey by the organization found that those dentists won't be able to reopen immediately given the government’s new requirements for personal protective equipment and ventilation in the pandemic.

The other two-thirds said they would be able to resume activities “in whole or in part,” the professional association found in its survey of over 2,200 members.

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For most of the dentists who won’t be reopening on time, the lack of protective equipment is the problem, they reported. The Order of Dentists said it was also in touch with some distributors of the protective equipment and that those distributors are indicating that supplies should “return to normal” in Quebec soon.

“Since they should now have access to supplies, dentists and their staff should be able to gradually and safely offer dental services, which the Quebec population has a right to expect after the suspension of non-urgent treatments for more than 10 weeks,” the order wrote in a Friday news release.

The ventilation experts will be available to “provide dentists with reliable information” as they decide how to proceed, the release said.

In the meantime, patients are asked to be patient and to check the provincial dentistry site, maboucheensante.com, for updates about how to book an appointment and safely visit dentists’ offices—as well as any information on new fees.

“The return to routine care will need to be gradual and, as such, we are counting on the understanding and cooperation of patients when they contact their dental clinic,” said the Quebec Order of Dentists president, Dr. Guy Lafrance.