WSDA is committed to keeping ​dentists and their teams informed about the latest clinical guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• The Role of Aerosol on the Transmission of Coronavirus and the Impact in Dentistry
• Respiratory Protection in the Era of COVID-19​
• ADA & OSAP Infection Control Webinar
• Teledentistry & Virtual Evaluations During COVID-19
• ARCORA - Teledentistry in Washington
• Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) Application: Evidence-Based Recommendations

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): List of Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus)
• Washington State Department of Health (DOH): Workplace and Employer Resources & Recommendations

• WSDA Secures PPE for Washington Dentists
• AWB PPE Connect
• DOH Conservation Strategies for Personal Protective Equipment
• Request PPE from Your Local Health Jurisdiction
• Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS)​
• CDC Strategies to Optimize the Supply of PPE and Equipment

• WA Department of Health COVID-19 Blog
• CDC Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Dental Settings
• Washington State Coronavirus Response (COVID-19)
• The ADA Code of Ethics and COVID-19 

1. If you will be using Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) rapid point-of-care tests in your practice, you will need to obtain an MTS license. If you are only collecting a sample to send to a laboratory for analysis, you do not need an MTS license. In Washington, a CLIA number will be assigned to your MTS license so you don’t need to apply for a CLIA Certificate. Click here for an MTS license application.
2. Download and read the ADA’s COVID-19 & Lab Testing Requirements Toolkit
3. Make sure you understand the reporting requirements by reviewing the Department of Health’s Reporting COVID-19 Test Results for Point-of-Care Testing Facilities website.

Dentists must follow DOH’s current PPE conservation guidance (the guidelines can be found in yellow on page 3), which will by regularly reviewed and updated by the DOH, as published on the DOH website at www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus.

The FDA has stated that it is continuing to monitor the domestic and global supply chain for potential disruptions or shortages and will “use all available tools to react swiftly and mitigate the impact to U.S. patients and healthcare professionals.” In the meantime, the agency encourages healthcare facilities to report any supply disruptions to deviceshortages@fda.hhs.gov.

If you do not have adequate supplies to meet regulations, you should reschedule patient appointments when required PPE is replenished for your office.

Possibly. Governor Inslee’s plan for the safe expansion of non-urgent health care services requires offices to implement strategies for addressing employees who have had unprotected exposures to COVID-19 positive patients, are symptomatic, or ill, which should include requiring COVID-19 positive employees to stay at home while infectious, and potentially restricting employees who were directly exposed to the COVID-19 positive employee. The CDC has also issued: Interim Guidance for Risk Assessment and Work Restrictions for Healthcare Personnel with Potential Exposure to COVID-19. The guide provides assistance when applying work restrictions for providers with potential exposure to COVID-19.

If a patient with a confirmed case of COVID-19 requires urgent/emergent dental treatment, that care should not be delivered in standard dental office. The dentist and the patient’s medical providers should work together to determine the appropriate precautions on a case-by-case basis: this coordinated approach is critical in order to ensure that the risk of potential spread of disease among patients, visitors, and staff is kept as low as possible.

Because dental settings are not typically designed to carry out all of the Transmission-Based Precautions that are recommended for hospital and other ambulatory care settings, dentists and medical providers will need to determine whether the facility is an appropriate setting for the necessary services for a potentially infectious patient. It may be necessary for treatment to be performed in a healthcare setting that offers the additional protections that should be maintained in these cases.