So what do you suggest for the dentist who needs to work in your mouth and can’t implement universal masking always and for most of the time spent with you? Or me as an esthetician who performs facial services ? I can shorten my service time to take away the fluff but I will still need to work 1-2ft face to face with clients for 30-45 minutes with the client not able to wear a mask, because of product applications.
I have a video specifically about universal masking (here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Npa1QpEwM_E.html), but here is the bottom line. For the dentist it is more of an issue. The patient needs to have their mouth open and is directly exposing the dentist or anyone else that is in their mouth. The dental clinician must therefore wear an N95 mask with a face shield. They are in short supply but the supply is getting better (for example, I just found really affordable face shields on Amazon). An N95 mask can be worn using a CDC approved “extended use” combined with a “reuse” protocol. “Extended” use means that you can wear it for multiple encounters. “Reuse” means that you can use it for multiple days. The number of days can be up to 5 days. Just store the mask in a brown paper bag with care to make sure that no contact from the outside surface of the mask is transferred to the inside of the mask. After that the N95 mask can be resterilized up to three times using “MGS” which stands for Microwave Generated Steam. This is very simple and I am going to make a video of this next. Basically you take a disposable ziploc plastic storage container (like what you would store a sandwich in) and poke the lid with a bunch of holes (~90) and then fill it halfway with water. Place the mask outside surface on the lid that is on the base that has the water and run on power level 10 for 2 minutes. For estheticians, it is a little easier if the service you're performing allows your client to wear a mask (for example eyelash extensions). As long as your client is wearing a mask that fits well around the nose and mouth then you can get by with a regular cloth mask that is readily available. If you could get an N95 mask that would be better for the services in which your client cannot wear their own mask. In these situations I would recommend that you follow the same masking guidelines that I recommended for a dentist. Hope this helps and stay safe!
