Frequently Asked Questions

You will be tested on the day you return to work in addition to established TDCC testing days (Mondays and Thursdays)

As with any team member that misses regularly scheduled testing, new team members will be tested on their first day of employment with TDCC and will continue regular surveillance testing per our surveillance testing protocol. 

For persons who remain asymptomatic following recovery from COVID-19, retesting is not necessary during the first 3 months after the date of symptom onset. When a positive test occurs less than 3 months after the person’s symptom onset of their most recent illness, it is possible that the positive test represents a persistently positive test associated with the previous infection and not a new infection.   

Per CDC Guidance Regarding Recurrent Positive Test Results- Updated July23, 2020

The data and experience with other viral respiratory infections indicate that most persons recovered from COVID-19 who test persistently or recurrently positive by RT-PCR are likely no longer infectious. Isolation and precautions may be discontinued for persons with COVID-19  10 days after symptom onset (the date on which symptoms first began, including non-respiratory symptoms), provided their fever has resolved for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and their other symptoms have improved. For some persons with severe or critical illness, or who are severely immunocompromised, isolation and precautions may be maintained for up to 20 days after symptom onset.

Team members experiencing symptoms after the 3 month period following a positive test result should consider the possibility of reinfection and follow current CDC guidelines for testing and isolation.

Team members experiencing COVID related symptoms within 3 months of a previous positive test result, should stay home and contact their physician for testing and further instruction.

No. The Dental Care Center is following the CDC’s Time/Symptom-Based Strategy to determine if a team member is ready and able to return to work.  

If you were asymptomatic – Exclude from work until at least 10 days have passed since the date of your first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test 

If you were symptomatic – Exclude from work until 3 days (72 hours) since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared

There are two acceptable methods for determining when an employee can return to work following a positive Covid test.  One is the “Time/Symptom Based Strategy” and the other is the “Test-Based Strategy”.  The Test Based Strategy requires employees to exclude from work until they have received TWO negative COVID tests taken 24 hours apart. Since we cannot allow a team member that tested positive return to the workplace for testing, they would have to locate the testing center nearest them, which could be challenging in some areas. The testing “method” used by these various testing sites could vary.  The turnaround time for obtaining results also varies from “rapid/same day results” (currently believed to be less accurate) to nasopharyngeal, which is known to be fairly uncomfortable for some patients.

TDCC chose the Time/Symptom Based Strategy because it is more easily measured and administered to insure the employee’s safe return to work.  

In order to help distinguish “normal illness” vs “COVID illness” TDCC has updated our sick policy to read that a team member must be fever free for 3 days (72 hours) without the use of fever-reducing medications before returning to work for non COVID related illness.