Press Release | The ACDQ demands that the government vaccinate dentists and their teams

Montreal, April 1, 2021 - The Association des chirurgiens dentistes du Québec (ACDQ) demands that the government vaccinate dentists and dental clinic staff. Given the growing presence of variants across Quebec, all health care professionals urgently need to be vaccinated.

“Although there have been not been any cases of COVID-19 being transmitted from asymptomatic patients to dental clinic staff members since dental clinics reopened in June, dentists and their teams (assistants and hygienists) are concerned about the influx of new variants, which are much more contagious according to public health authorities,” points out Dr. Carl Tremblay, President of the ACDQ.

The government should bear in mind that dentists and their teams (assistants and hygienists) work in close proximity to their patients' respiratory tracts, and patients do not wear masks during their treatments, which can last anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. Dentists are therefore justified in demanding that the necessary precautions be taken to keep them and their patients safe.

Dr. Tremblay believes that the government is not giving due consideration to the health care professionals who work at private clinics. “When it comes to health care professionals, the government seems to be vaccinating not on the basis of risk, but rather on the basis of necessity; it vaccinates the hospital staff that it needs, while at the same time neglecting the staff working at private clinics.”

The ACDQ’s President has had several conversations with Daniel Paré, Quebec’s vaccination campaign head, and the office of the Minister of Health and Social Services in recent months to make them aware of the importance of vaccinating dentists.

According to the initial order of priority, dentists and other health care professionals in the private sector were supposed to be given priority in the vaccination efforts, as part of the 2nd priority group. The ACDQ is therefore demanding that the government follow this order and send clear directives to CIUSSS and CISSS institutions that they should begin vaccinating dentists and other health care professionals.

“Right now, dentists are more likely to be vaccinated based on their age group than their status as health care professionals."

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Source:
Association des chirurgiens dentistes du Québec (ACDQ)