COVID-19: A Message from RCDSO President

Dear Colleagues,

I know you are waiting to see and implement the College’s guidance following the release of the revised Directive #2 on Tuesday.

We have developed that guidance, as per the direction of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. However, CMOH documents are developed for all health professionals so we’re currently seeking guidance about how those documents apply to oral health care, especially to aerosol-generating procedures.

The CMOH has asked Public Health Ontario to review the protocols and provide us with instruction. Both understand the urgency of the situation and will get back to us as soon as possible.

Until then, dentists are required to follow the College's Guidance from May 22 on Managing Infection Risks During In-Person Care, and our Guidance for the Use of Teledentistry.

As I have said to you many times before, my chief concern is that the public is protected. Like you, I want to get my office open and get back to work. But we cannot do that at the expense of putting our patients, our staff and ourselves at risk.

I am sorry to have to ask for your patience once again, but I hope you understand that we must rely on the Chief Medical Officer of Health to provide the overall direction; that is simply how our system works.
As soon as we have a real sense of the timeline, I will write to you again. I hope that will be very early next week.

Sincerely,

Dr. Flavio Turchet
President, Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario