Dear Governor Cuomo et al., 

Concerned NYS Registered Dental Hygienist is a group of Dental Hygienists who hereby respectfully petition you, the New York State Division of Safety and Health, the New York State Public Health Department and the New York State Dental Association pursuant to Sec6(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act,  29 USC to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to reduce the risk of exposure of the Novel Coronavirus / COVID 19 to the Dental Hygienist upon the reopening of New York State. According to the classifications set forth by OSHA, the Profession of Dental Hygiene is considered a Very High Risk Exposure Occupation. We can not practice safe distancing and we can not avoid aerosol generating procedures completely. (please see link below) and this is what is leading the concern behind this petition. We request that these current recommendations become new mandates that will reduce our risk of airborne exposure. (see link below)

In the recent months we have been witnesses to the tragedy that has fallen upon Doctors, Nurses, First Responders and other professionals and occupations who are front line handling the overload of cases with COVID 19. We humbly ask that upon the reopening of  New York State that immediate safeguards regarding an upgrade in personal protective equipment (PPE), mandating that strict administrative, work practice and environmental controls be  in place, along with better screening of patients health status prior to arrival, temperature checks upon arrival and followup after appointments since some carriers of Novel Coronavirus can present asymptomatic. Traditionally we have relied on voluntary efforts on the part of our employers to protect us, but with the many lessons learned from this and previous outbreaks we believe that there should be stiffer mandates regarding the safety of the worker and public. 

Our concerns are not centered just around ourselves, but also for our families, our patients, and the communities that we serve. The relationship between exposure and prevalence is great and the non emergency procedures provided by the Dental Hygienist could directly cause another spike in positive cases within our state. The Dental office has the responsibility to plan, prepare and prevent a resurgence of the Novel Coronavirus. We implore you to safeguard our return. 

Respectfully,

Concerned NYS Registered Dental Hygienist

https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-8177(14)61227-7/pdf

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf