‘IT’S BEEN SURREAL’
With added precautions in place, Queens dentists get back to work
BY JASMINE PALMA
Dental practices across New
York City and the country shuttered
their offices to the general
public, offering their services
exclusively to emergencies and
urgent matters, in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as the city gradually
reopens, dental practices are
starting to resume operation.
Dr. Richard Corbin of Corbin
Dental was among many dentists
forced to cut their general
practice short. Despite this, he
— along with Dr. Bruce Corbin
— continued emergency care
through the pandemic, seeing
patients in East Elmhurst, Bayside
and Oyster Bay.
“There was emergency care
and the patients were very nervous
to seek care at the hospitals,
especially Elmhurst Hospital
with the extreme patient
overload from COVID-19 during
April and May,” Corbin said.
“We worked with a number of
staff that braved the way with us
through the worst of the infections.
We recently had a dinner
out together and celebrated that
no one of us got sick and for all
the patients we helped through
the crisis and shutdown.”
When time came to be back
in business, dental practices
had to revise their conventions
in order to heed Center for Disease
Control (CDC) and American
Dental Association (ADA)
guidelines.
“It has been surreal. We as
dentists have always protected
the public in offices,” Corbin
said. “When I started, AIDS
was the big scare. We have had
numerous scares with SARS1,
swine flu, avian flu, of course
hepatitis B. The dental offices
are always protecting against
possible infection. This virus
is just more contagious and
airborne and that has been a
big issue for everyone. I believe
that the risks are real and we
all need to wear face masks and
try to keep the volume of people
lower so that we social distance
especially in the smaller
spaces.”
Corbin Dental offices are
equipped with personal protection
equipment (PPE), such as
N95 masks, and are currently
supplied with oral mist vacuums
for hygienists to employ in
dental cleanings, according to
the practice.
Corbin further detailed that
plastic barriers are up; social
distancing is being practiced
both in the waiting rooms and
outside the office; temperatures
are regularly taken; and
patients are asked to wait in
their cars when waiting room
densities are high.
“It is difficult but we are
operating well now that we
have gotten used to this new
normal,” he said. “It has been
an adjustment for everyone.
The staff are very hot under the
extra gowns and masks and it
is summer time! Patients are
happy to be coming back in and
they are glad we instituted the
new protocols for the office.”
Dr. Inessa Kandov of Bayview
Orthodontics has adopted
similar practices in her office.
“We have significantly elevated
our already stringent
protocols of sterilization and
infection control in the office,
and we are regularly disinfecting
common areas and surfaces
that are frequently touched.
All members of our team are
being evaluated daily to make
sure they are at peak health,
and we are utilizing personal
protective equipment (PPE) for
examinations and treatments,”
according to the practice’s
webpage.
Other guidelines and safety
measures are found on the site,
TIMESLEDGER | 16 QNS.COM | AUG. 7-13, 2020
including the required mask
upon arrival that must fully
cover the nose, mouth and chin,
plus a pre-appointment screening
with a questionnaire and a
no-contact temperature check.
HEPA and UV light air purifiers
have been installed in the office,
rotating between rooms for
thorough disinfection after use.
Hand sanitizer stations are located
around the premises, and
patients are requested to arrive
at appointments alone unless
accompanying a minor in order
to control patient density.
“I have patients washing
their hands and then rinsing
their mouths with peroxyl
mouthwash just to reduce the
viral load,” Kandov said. “I
make sure that I never see more
than one or two patients at the
same time and they’re always at
opposite ends of the office, but
it’s usually one patient scheduled
per visit. I try to completely
keep things separate and keep
as few people in the office as
possible. We’re wearing N95 or
KN95 masks, shields, or goggles
and I started wearing scrubs for
the first time in nine years.”
In spite of fears associated
with the risk of contracting the
virus, both Corbin and Kandov
claim that patients are regularly
continuing to visit their doctors
for dental care.
However due to scheduling
tailored to reduce patient volume
and to allow for thorough
cleaning of the spaces, fewer patients
are seen on a day-to-day
basis than normal, according to
Corbin.
“We are not seeing as many
patients as before the pandemic
— this is due to timing and
cleaning more rigorously. But
we want the patients to know
that at Corbin Dental we are
trying our best to be safe and
that they need to address their
oral care or it will not end well,”
Corbin said.
“I would say I have about five
to eight patients who are still
apprehensive and they’ve held
off on coming in, but they just
need time,” Kandov observed.
“I’ve had plenty of patients that
are new. I think that as a result
of people wearing masks, I’ve
seen a rise in adults starting
treatment. Since masks obscure
their faces, it’s now fine
for them to wear braces or Invisalign
— which is so funny, I
hadn’t anticipated that.”
Despite the constant uncertainty
and fear looming in
the air, Kandov insists that
the doctor-patient relationship
remains as strong as ever.
“I’ve seen a lot of patients
become very anxious. This is
a very troublesome and scary
time for a lot of people, but I
haven’t changed my relationship
with my patients. Instead,
it has made me realize how
much I have missed them.
They’re like family to me at
this point,” she said. “The only
thing that has changed is that
this situation has made people
more cognizant of cleanliness
and hygiene. All other healthcare
providers and I are doing
everything we can to alleviate
the fears and anxieties patients
feel. To me, my patient is number
one and of utmost importance.
That is the motto of my
office — everything revolves
around the patient. We always
want to make a happy, comforting,
safe space for our patients
and their families. We’ve made
sanitary changes, but our relationship
to our patients is
resolute.”
“I think we are in new order
for the next few years at least
with the pandemic. We realize
that life has become more simple.
We appreciate our homes
and eating meals together.
There will be changes in how
we work and socialize for a very
long time. The dental offices will
always be a necessary care and I
am hoping that we can get back
to normal, the new normal and
life can be comfortable during
this rough time,” Corbin said.
/QNS.COM
