During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, dental office design and redesign became a frequent and sometimes overwhelming concern for dentists as more recommendations from healthcare experts and health agencies arose. Adaptations to the waiting room, operatory and staff spaces were necessary, and many of these changes will remain once the pandemic is better controlled. 

Some of those changes include:

• Removing or reducing space in the waiting area and encouraging patients to stay in their cars prior to check-in.
• Evaluating the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, existing operatory partitions and cabinetry placement.
• Creating separate donning, doffing and cleaning areas for personal protective equipment.
• Arranging the staff lounge in a way that allows for six feet of distance, potentially utilizing bar stool seating where people aren’t sitting face-to-face.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began releasing guidance for medical clinics in March of last year, and the most recent guidelines are centered around prescreening patients, keeping the waiting room as empty as possible, having single sheets of vital safety information easily viewable by patients and increasing the space between staff workstations. The CDC addressed dental offices specifically in follow-up literature, and expert firms used this guidance along with medical research of the virus, their experience and the psychology of design to inform their approaches. 

To learn more about how COVID-19 is changing dental office design, and what you can do to keep your patients and staff safe, read the full article here.

After reading the article, take the Self-Instruction quiz to earn one CE credit. 

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