When the rest of the planet is removing their masks, basking in the cool breeze of freedom, why is the iron fist of Chatham Pediatric Dentistry insisting that I properly wear a mask when I come to their office?
First of all - thanks for asking. We think that was the question, but honestly it was a little hard to hear through the mask.
Second of all, there are a few interesting things about pediatric dentistry that are different than a typical general dentistry practice. We’ve got lots of patients who are under five years old, and thus aren’t eligible for the vaccine. Since those kids come into the office every single day and must take their masks off for treatment, we’ll ask you to keep yours on.
Similarly, we see sick kids at our office every day. We see kids that have their immune systems turned off because of organ transplants, we see kids with heart disease, we see kids with cancers, and we see kids who have a whole spectrum of craniofacial concerns. We see kids who’ve had dozens of surgeries. Many of these kids are unable to be vaccinated because of their medical history. It might not be YOUR kid, but it’s for all of us to work together to protect them.
With so many asymptomatic cases, we think it’s a small price to pay to offer a modicum of protection to our youngest crew. Those of us who’ve worked in hospitals, medical offices, and dental offices have been wearing masks all day at work for years. It’s not too hard to do, and if it helps a vulnerable kid be safe, then we’re all for it.
If it IS too hard to do, we’ll be glad to talk with you about it. If you’d prefer, you can wait in your car while we see your kids. We’re probably going to be doing the mask thing for a long time. We treat YOUR kids like we treat OUR kids, and we do everything we can to keep them safe and sound.