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Oral surgeries come to halt in effort to limit COVID-19 exposure

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OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The U.S. Surgeon General recently advised hospitals to consider stopping elective surgeries to help combat the spread of coronavirus, and surgery groups across the region are taking notice.

Village Pointe Oral Surgery in Omaha canceled all non-emergency appointments for the time being such as wisdom teeth removal, making up around 90% of its business.

Village Pointe said it had called patients and let them know they needed to reschedule, and it said patients have been understanding so far.

The oral surgery group is still open for emergencies.

"We're trying to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus," said oral surgeon, Dr. Michael Shnayder. "It sounds like taking these next two weeks to minimize everybody's exposure to it, and we're following along with restaurants, schools, all the other big events. Hopefully we'll reduce the spread of this virus and minimize everybody's exposure."

A spokesperson for CHI Medical Center said surgeries at their hospital were still on as scheduled as of Tuesday.