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Swollen faces and broken teeth as dentists reopen in St. John's

St. John's dentist Francis McCarthy is back at work Thursday after a long stretch without seeing patients.

Those who are coming to his Water Street practice on Day 7 of a blizzard-caused state of emergency were "biting at the bit, so to speak, to come in," McCarthy told CBC News on Thursday.

"People have been in pain, people with swollen faces."

"We were able to triage some of the patients by checking the answering machine, phoning in prescriptions when we could."

McCarthy and other dental offices were given word at 5 p.m. Wednesday they'd be allowed to open, as one of several exemptions to the city's state of emergency as crews continue to clean up the snow from Friday's blizzard.

"A lot of dental treatment has to be treated very soon, within the first hours if you have a tooth taken out or wounds in the mouth," McCarthy said, "[You need] to be treated before you end up getting an infection."

Daniel MacEachern/CBC
Daniel MacEachern/CBC

His biggest challenge was getting inside the building to open because sidewalks have yet to be plowed.

And now that he's back to work, some patients scheduled for routine dental work have been cancelling. However, patients with swollen faces and broken teeth ripping into soft tissue were never so happy to see him.

McCarthy commended the city for allowing dental offices to reopen.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Dental Association had contacted the city prior to the exemption being made for dentists. The association's Facebook page says dental services should be considered essential services.

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