Cost for Dental Care May Increase as Practices Pay for Additional PPE

As many states begin to allow the reopening of dental practices for elective procedures, the provision of dental care will look significantly different. Most notably, oral health professionals will be donning more extensive personal protective equipment (PPE), such as N95 masks, face shields, gowns, and foot coverings, in addition to the need for additional infection control procedures. But who will bear the cost of these safety measures? The American Dental Association has asked third-party payers to increase the maximum allowable fees for all procedures, or institute an additional fee per patient to cover these added costs. With most offices closed for the past 6 weeks and lower patient volumes expected with practice openings, absorbing such costs could be problematic for some dental practices. Read more here.

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