Even though the county’s been opening up, I’m still cagey about going anywhere. Evidence suggests that much of the mandated disinfection may only be so much “hygiene theater“*-the real problem is disinfecting the air.
But given the importance of oral hygiene I decided to keep a months-delayed dental appointment last week, and here’s why.
Yes, there are a lot of open mouths and water droplets and all other manner of nasty virus-spreading activity that goes on in dental offices. Even so, I’d have to take my mask off for a good chunk of time. But my dentist (IMHO, one of the best in the state) spent the months they were shut preparing for reopening.
But in addition to disinfecting every conceivable surface multiple ways multiple times a day and the requisite PPE (masks AND visors) you’d expect, they had these:
HEPA filters in every room, with additional UV light in exam rooms. And they fogged between patients with hypochlorous acid, a proven virus killer that dissipates into salt water.
Air treatment was the deciding factor between neglecting my teeth and taking my mask off.
Pending a vaccine, I think air treatment like this is going to become mandatory for any semblance of safe return to normal life and movement, at least in the near future.
At the same time, I recognize that it would be time-consuming and expensive to retrofit every public building for this, so I don’t expect HEPA filters etc. to happen outside of medical settings.
At some point we’re all going to have to do risk assessment for us and ours because we can’t stay locked down forever (even if we do have a national lockdown to get this thing under control, a move I support).
Given how potentially nasty covid infections can get, though, I’m not sure how much I’m willing to risk.
What do you think?
*Which I still engage in because I’m an idiot who can’t keep their hands off their face. Besides, I like to control what I can.
