The American Dental Association (ADA), working with NYSDA, has a plan to reopen dental offices for all dental services. The plan, which has been shared with the New York State Department of Health, is both comprehensive and a thoughtful guide that can be tailored for many other businesses. We can’t lose sight of the fact that this profession has always maintained the highest level and use of PPE protection. No other medical practice has such stringent guidelines. These organizations have been successfully dealing with many pandemics and outbreaks, including the AIDS crisis, so we can be assured that their efforts to return to work will be both a smooth and positive one that prioritizes the health and safety of their patients, staff and themselves.
Malliotakis wrote to the governor individually and along with her colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference urging him to open dentist offices.
She has also been making a push to resume elective surgeries and preventive procedures throughout ALL 62 counties after hearing from constituents who have had their hip replacement surgery, glaucoma surgery, mastectomy and other necessary procedures put on hold and delayed for months. Malliotakis has consulted with members of the local Medical Society who have also indicated that procedures such as endoscopies, colonoscopies, joint injections, cystoscopies, biopsies, and gynecological office procedures can resume safely in an office setting, yet they are still prohibited. These procedures are important to determine whether a patient has a more serious condition that needs to be addressed in a timely manner. Elective surgeries and procedures are only allowed in 49 of New York’s 62 counties.