Many patients are too concerned to return to the dentist, although most dental offices have reopened, and one office in Cranford is more than prepared to keep patients safe and healthy.

 

Dr. Maxine Feinberg has been practicing dentistry since 1986, and Wednesday, she showed the various steps taken to ensure safety for everyone involved, while taking care of your teeth.

"I had a UV light put into the ductwork before we reopened, so that's at least when the air circulates, it kills not only viral particles, but my allergist said it will help me with my allergies because it even kills mold,” says Dr. Feinberg.

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From masks and face guards to temperature checks, Dr. Feinberg says nobody should be skipping their scheduled dental visits. She safely worked through the AIDS pandemic, and now she's taking every precaution to safely work through COVID-19.

“If you look behind me, you'll see certain plastic wrap on our equipment, well that is not new, I've been doing that for 30 years,” says Dr. Feinberg. “I want the patients to know that they are safe going to the dentist. In fact, according to the CDC, there has been no known cluster of COVID-19 cases in a dental office."

She's added equipment to help evacuate the mouth more quickly. Patients are no longer permitted to wait in the waiting room. Sprays are also used to disinfect each room, and fewer patients are being seen each day because of the stringent cleaning process.

"One of the sad things during the AIDS crisis of the 80s, many patients stopped going to the dentist for a prolonged period of time and I saw the aftermath of not having regular dental care for a number of years because people were afraid,” says Dr. Feinberg.

Dr. Feinberg says the dental industry wants to ensure that doesn't happen again. Patients must also answer a series of health questions the day before their appointment, and again just before they enter the office for their appointment.