Why I don't wear a mask when not required.

I am sharing this article with the view of giving a different and I think important perspective.

A couple of points about it.

* It is a professional article reviewing actual studies to inform people in the medical field.

* It was written before Covid-19, but includes data from Sars 1 and Mers and tests against other flus.

* One of the main points is that there is no evidence that masks add protection for the wearer or the dental patient, and that the guidelines for dental workers are based on old assumptions that do not include the most recent understanding of disease spread.

* A second point is that masks in dental situations give a false sense of security that is not justified by the data. 

* One of my main conclusions from this article and many like it that I have read is that cloth and surgical masks don't provide much protection from viral infection. If you are in an enclosed space with someone who is infectious for any length time or very near someone who is infectious, you are at some risk. Fortunately, as the article points our bodies have a number of natural airway defenses so just being near an infectious person does not necessarily mean we will catch their disease.

* Second, masks provide a false sense of security that may lead people to take more risks than they know they are taking. Both in this dental situation and our current situation, a huge focus has been placed on wearing masks, and I have heard many people make the claim that the mask is keeping them safe in whatever situation they are in. I have seen no evidence that this is the case, either from real world studies or from current Covid infection rates as related to who does and who does not wear a mask.

* Finally then, my last point is that if you are going to go out in public while there are people out who might be infected with Covid, you are taking a risk whether you wear a mask or not. My family has made our decisions about what activities to attend and who to see and when to see them with this knowledge I mind. We have gone out to a number of places knowing there was a risk of catching Covid, and in fact our family did contract Covid several months ago. 

*At the same time we have tried hard to respect other people's decisions about what risks they are willing to take, so we have limit our contacts with some people, even close family, because they have not wanted to take those risks. We wear masks when required, but we have no illusion that the mask is going to keep us or the other person safe. 

* Therefore, our decisions about where we go, when we will go, and who we will see, are not based on whether we think masks will be worn or not. If you see us without masks in a public space it is not a sign that we don't care about people, but rather that we don't want to lie to others with our behavior. We know Covid can be serious and we pray hard for those who have had and currently have more serious cases. We also respect those people who for many months have chosen to shelter in place, which is probably the only effective means to avoid the risk of Covid infections. We also have not cared that others chose to wear masks, and have said that publicly many times. We chose not to because we do not think they are effective, because they limit relationship, and cause breathing issues. My only encouragement for you with this post would be to make sure you are not trusting in a tool that is not actually effective to do the job.