Should dentists keep treating patients at the epicenter of a flu epidemic? Mexican officials took contrasting positions on this question in statements this month.
For Enrique Acosta Gio, D.D.S., Ph.D., chief of infection control and occupational safety at the dental school of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the answer was no, according to ElUniversal.com.
He argued that patients would run a risk of contagion from the H1N1 flu virus in waiting rooms, and recommended that they postpone oral health treatments.
The Mexican Dental Association rejected Dr. Gio's recommendation. "We are prepared to prevent the spread of any infection," said the association's president, Victor Manuel Guerrero Reynoso, in a video posted on YouTube, noting that dentists wear masks and gloves and sterilize their equipment.
Dentists can prevent the spread of the virus in waiting rooms by scheduling appointments so that the rooms don't become crowded, he said.
Only patients who have flu symptoms should delay dental appointments, the association recommended.
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