In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever to protect all aspects of your health, including your oral health. To help you and your loved ones stay safe, dentists are closed for business as per the state’s requirements. Here are a few tips for maintaining your health during this time.

How to Stay Safe During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that spreads through person-to-person contact. When people with the virus cough, sneeze, or talk, they can produce infectious respiratory droplets. Someone else can contract the disease when these droplets end up in their mouth, nose, or lungs. To protect yourself and those around you, follow these five steps: 

• Wash Your Hands: Do this frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is particularly important after you cough or sneeze, return from a public space, and use the bathroom. Always wash them before and after you eat.
• Cough Into Your Elbow: This reduces the chances of particles dispersing into the air. It also prevents saliva from spreading through hand contact. 
• Don’t Touch Your Face: If the droplets are on your hands and you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, they could enter your body and make you sick.
• Keep Your Distance: Because the virus spreads from person-to-person contact, stay at least six feet away from others when you’re out.
• Stay Home: The best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home except for essential tasks, such as visiting the grocery store, pharmacy, or doctor’s office. 

Stay updated on COVID-19 by visiting the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) online. 

How to Care for Your Dental Health

Since limiting contact with others is key to fighting COVID-19, you should take care of your oral health to avoid complications that would require attention from a dentist. Brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss daily to keep your mouth free of plaque, a substance that can cause tooth decay and gum disease.

Wash your hands before flossing to prevent infectious particles from entering the mouth. You can use a floss pick if you’re hesitant to touch your face. You can also wear disposable gloves when you floss to avoid contact.

In an effort to keep the Homer and Barrow, AK, communities safe, Preventive Dental Services PC will be closed until April 20th. Select procedures are being postponed to keep all emergency rooms free. However, they will treat patients who are facing dental emergencies after they’ve undergone the screening process recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA). If you’re experiencing an emergency, like a severe toothache, mouth trauma, bleeding, or swelling of the gums, face, or neck, call (907) 235-1286 to discuss your symptoms. To learn more about this dentist, visit them online.