WATSONTOWN, Pa. — Dr. Carl Jenkins is suited up and ready to take care of patients at his dental practice in Watsontown. After about a month and a half of only being allowed to see patients on an emergency basis, dentists in Pennsylvania are once again allowed to perform non-emergency dental procedures. But it is not business as usual.
"It's not without risk, but we're trying to control those risks so that we can provide necessary care," Dr. Carl Jenkins said.
Dentists were only allowed to perform emergency procedures since the governor's shutdown order went into effect in mid-March. That order was revised earlier this month. Dentists can now do procedures that will prevent further damage for their patients.
"Each and every patient I have to make that determination. But at the end of that procedure when I have treated that patient, I have to say it feels pretty darn good to know that we've provided a treatment to them that is going to allow them to be healthy and avoid that irreversible harm," Jenkins said.
Jenkins and his staff of five went through extensive training on new protocols.
"We're screening our patients before they come in, we're taking temperatures. We're screening them again when they get here. First and foremost, we're trying to make sure we're staying safe for both our patients and ourselves," Jenkins said.
Jenkins stressed how difficult it is for dentists to get the proper personal protective equipment. He would like to see more PPE made available to dentists.