Angela Dover: It is not safe to 'just' have plaque scraped from your teeth

To The Daily Sun,

I would like to make sone statements in response to Rep. Marsh on the Re-Open task force (published May7).

He speaks for dentist and hygienists and he is an eye doctor! I am a RDH in N.H. and if you do any research you will know that we have the highest risk of all occupations!! This disease and most all others are spread through saliva, cough, secretions. All from the mouth!! And during a prophylaxis we spread these mouth droplets/aeresols in our face and around the opperatory and office. This is a unique virus that lives a long time in the air and on everything. It will be everywhere after a dental prophylaxis. It is not safe for dental staff or any patient in the office. And a mask won't help.

For Marsh, or the task force, to tell us we are allowed to go back and “scrape plaque from teeth, but this would have to be done with a hand tool” is nonsense!

Hygienists at this point can't do our jobs properly with the instruments we need and keep ourselves, coworkers and patients safe!

I hope you can chat with me and maybe print just one workers fears and knowledge. It is not “just a cleaning.”

People need to know. And they really don't.

Angela Dover, RDH

Laconia