Clinics and dental offices will resume their activity, although conditioned, on Monday, with appointments to be previously scheduled by phone or email and users to wear a mask before being served by the doctor.

The information was provided to Lusa by the president of the Portuguese Dental Association, Orlando Monteiro da Silva, on the day that the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) published an orientation on dental medicine during the covid-19 pandemic, which covers clinics, offices or oral health services.

The DGS guidance is effective as of Sunday, the day when Portugal enters the state of calamity, which translates into the phased application of measures of deflation.

Since March 15, clinics and dental offices have been closed, with medical care being provided only in urgent and urgent cases.

In practice, as of Monday, according to the president of the Portuguese Dental Association, clinics and offices will be able to resume their activity, albeit with restrictions.

Consultations will now have to be booked in advance by phone or email, with the user answering a questionnaire to assess the risk of contagion by covid-19: if you have symptoms, if you have been ill or if you have been in contact with patients .

In case of symptoms or illness, the user is advised to postpone the consultation.

If the care you need is urgent and urgent, the appointment is rescheduled for late morning or afternoon, at specific times, so that the user does not cross with others.

In other situations, in which the user has no symptoms or infection, the appointment is scheduled for a due date.

Users have to wear a surgical mask, only removing it when they were being consulted and receiving medical care, explained the president Orlando Monteiro da Silva, adding that the waiting rooms will have limited capacity, to guarantee the necessary distance, and will no longer have magazines, leaflets or water dispensers to avoid their handling and, thus, the risk of infection by the virus.

The air must be renewed frequently, preferably with open doors and windows.

At the entrance to the offices and clinics there will be hand sanitizing gel.

In the doctor’s office, only companions are allowed to enter in special situations, such as when the user is a minor. In this case, the companion must be seated two meters away from the dental equipment and with a surgical mask.

Given the “close proximity” to users, dentists and other oral health professionals are exposed “to respiratory droplets and aerosols that can be created during clinical procedures, making the consultation office a potential source of virus transmission”, refers to the guidance of the DGS, pointing out that “additional measures must be taken to ensure that the transmission of this virus is minimized”.