ANN MARIE HOFBAUER, DMD

SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO
PROTECT FROM THE SPREAD OF
COVID19 VIRUS
W. Peter Nordland DMD, MS
Dentistry is in the face of patients daily and creates aerosols
using dental handpieces and ultrasonic scalers. This puts the
profession at great risk for cross-contamination with bacteria
and viruses. There are some simple things that we can do as a
profession to minimize the Covid-19 Corona Virus risk. So
what are some of the things dentistry can do?
Dr. Jorgen Slots has been professor of microbiology at the
Ostrow USC School of Dentistry for many years. He is also a
virologist. His recommendations have helped mitigate dental
infections for over 25 years and he has published his research
on this topic in numerous well-refereed journals. Dentistry and
individuals can protect ourselves using a few simple
techniques.

1. Rinse for 30 seconds, three times a day using a mouth
   rinse made by mixing 1-part sodium hypochlorite (regular
   household bleach) with 30-parts water. The bleach should
   be the aqueous form (liquid) not gels or scented formulas.
2. Swab the nares (inside the nose) three times a day with a
   Q-tip soaked in Betadine (Povidone iodine) solution.
   These simple steps using common, easily found household
   chemicals can help to avoid cross contamination and mitigate
   the risk of spread of the Covid 19 virus. These same
   techniques can also be shared with friends and loved ones.