I am a general dental Practioner located in Virginia Beach. We closed our practice on March 17 for all  routine but  for emergency procedures per VDA/ADA guidelines. We were closed for six weeks.We have now reopened per CDC/ADA/VDA guidelines for the dental practitioners. This includes strict screening protocols for the patients, measuring and recording temperatures of staff and patients. We have decreased the number of patients in the office at one time so that we may follow the social distancing rules. Our standard of care has always been strict infection control and even more so now. My  Staff and I  wear  all the PPE required and follow strict infection control protocols as laid out by CDC/VDA including more disinfection in the administrative areas including the patient bathroom and the waiting room. We have also had to purchase more specialist equipment so that we are protected from the aerosols.

I feel that by imposing further reporting regulations we are further burdened in our everyday practices. Wearing of the masks and visors and gowns for 8-10 hours of the day has its own  set of issues as you may imagine.

We are already feeling the financial hardships due to business closure. The cost of the extensive PPE and infection control now required have added to that burden .We have also reduced the number of patients being seen, further reducing the bottom line.

I therefore would kindly request that we be exempt from the proposed reporting regulations by realizing that we dentist employers are  one of the top best employers as far as wanting to keep our staff, patients and therefore us safe through best practices.