Louisiana dental visits limited

Dental offices in Louisiana will only perform essential procedures starting March 18 until at least Apri116, the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry said Monday.

“Many dentists have been asking about the language in the Department of Health order prohibiting non-essential procedures for the next 30 days,” the board said. “The Board will interpret that language to mean the ordinary English language meaning of the phrase ‘nonessential procedures.’ If a procedure can be delayed for 30 days without, in the clinical judgment of the dentist, running an undue risk of harm to the patient, it is non-essential.

“Many dentists want a list of procedures that are essential versus non-essential, but such a list might be misleading. Simply saying that endodontic treatment is non-essential would ignore the fact that some root canals need to be done sooner than 30 days, while others can wait.

“We must rely on the training and experience of the licensed dentists in this state to determine essential versus non-essential procedures.”

People that have a question about their dental appointment and what services can be performed should contact their dentist’s office directly.