Most dentists in Washington have eliminated elective and non-emergency appointments, as a result of the governor’s coronavirus restrictions.
“They’re only seeing urgent needs, but it can be difficult to find providers that are open and seeing folks that have urgent needs," said Svea Stromme, the senior program manager at the Arcora Foundation. That’s the foundation arm of Delta Dental.
Arcora has a website, dentistlink.org, where you can go if you’re looking for a dentist who’s seeing patients now. Someone there will try to match you with a provider in your area. She says Arcora will add a new search function to its website tomorrow, for patients with urgent dental needs.
“We called all the federally qualified health centers across the state, found out who were open and who were still accepting clients," Stromme said. "Folks can go in there for a one-time need. Generally call first before you go. We are generally building out a data base for private practice that will see someone during this crisis for urgent needs.”
Spokane’s CHAS Clinic is taking emergency dental appointments, but asking people to call their own dentists first. It's hoping to convince people not to go to hospital emergency rooms for their dental needs.
You can also find more information about dental care and COVID-19 at the Smile Spokane website.