Earlier this week, we let you know about
emergency standards and regulations from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) that could impact dentistry. The VDA sent a
letter asking for an exemption for dentists from these new regulations, which we believe would be unnecessary and overly burdensome for our profession.
The ADA and VDA have each issued interim guidelines around safely practicing dentistry during this pandemic, and dentists already follow detailed guidelines from the CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.
The Department of Labor and Industry will be meeting early next week to vote on these new regulations and they have asked for comments from businesses who would be impacted.
Will you take a minute and submit your comment through the online regulatory town hall platform to make sure your voice is heard?
TAKE ACTION NOW
You can share your own comments, which will be posted online and viewable by the general public. It can be as simple as:
I am a [specialty] in private practice in [location], Virginia. I support the VDA request for an exemption from the proposed emergency regulations for the reasons stated in the letter.
These are some of the points the VDA made in our letter:
- Dentists and oral surgeons in Virginia have restocked their supplies of PPE and implemented social distancing and other measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, consistent with the recommendation of experts in the dental field at the ADA and VDA
- Workplace settings for oral surgeons and dentists are already uniquely positioned to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19
- Regular use of PPE for oral examinations and procedures is current standard of care
- Additional documentation and reporting requirements on top of the extensive measures already instituted would be overly burdensome and unnecessary
Your comments are important in this process and the comment period closes on Monday.
Thank you for taking action!