U.S. dentists seeking to conduct coronavirus testing face regulatory, supply hurdles

FILE PHOTO: A nurse practitioner takes a sample to be tested for the coronavirus disease at the CHA Somerville Hospital in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

Most testing by dentists is likely to initially focus on screening patients and staff to help minimize the risk of infection from the highly contagious pathogen at their practices. But some want to eventually provide tests more broadly to the general public, NADG executives said in an interview. “Approving dentists to administer these tests now will expand the nation’s medical surge capacity ... and create a safer environment for treating dental patients,” the ADA said in a letter to HHS.Coronavirus testing could also provide a source of revenue for dentists whose practices have been limited to only the most urgent cases by social distancing measures during the outbreak that has infected more than 800,000 Americans and killed over 45,000, according to a Reuters tally.

Governors around the country have said far more testing is needed to safely begin to reopen the nation’s battered economy, so they may be open to such waivers. Mitchell Goldman, chief executive of Mid-Atlantic Dental Group, a dental services organization based near Philadelphia, said he reached out to vendors about acquiring tests, only to be told it could take several weeks to receive a supply. Executives at NADG said that they received a similar response from suppliers.

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