Masks still required in Dental Offices
We will be following Cal/OSHA (3/2/2022) and California Dental Association(3/2/2022) guidelines and kindly ask that patients continue to wear masks once they enter the office. The universal face-mask mandate will end Feb. 16, 2022, as previously scheduled, for most vaccinated Californians in public indoor settings, including restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues, but masks will continue to be required for all individuals in dental and medical offices and other specified settings.
California’s new mask guidance (2/28/2022) acknowledges the significant decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the omicron variant over the last two months, as well as Californians’ knowledge in “how to protect themselves and their loved ones with effective masks when there may be risk of COVID-19 exposure.”
But the guidance also clarifies that face masks will remain required for all individuals in the following settings, regardless of their vaccination status:
- Health care settings, including dental offices
- Public transit, including airplanes, subways, buses and ride-shares
- Indoors at K-12 schools
- State and local correctional facilities
- Homeless shelters
- Long-term care settings and adult care facilities
- Emergency shelters
All workers and patients in dental offices must wear face masks. The Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards are consistent with the updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health. Patients will remove their masks to receive care.
