The safety of patients and dental staff is of central importance. The cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) has increased considerably, resulting in some dentists charging an extra fee to cover the increased expense. The choice to charge an additional fee for PPE is an individual dental practice business decision.

The American Dental Association (ADA) strongly encourages dental offices to disclose any additional fees upfront to patients and to document these charges in the patient record. The ADA has recommended that dental benefit carriers should either adjust the maximum allowable fees for all procedures to cover the increased costs of PPE or allow an additional standard fee per date of service per patient.

Additionally, some insurance carriers do in fact have support programs for additional PPE expenses. 

 Linked here is a resource by the American Dental Association used to track carriers that have offered support.