Many people wonder if it’s prudent to visit their doctor or dentist for routine preventive care during the pandemic, but experts say it’s always good to stay on top of your health rather than wait for serious symptoms.

Those in the high-risk groups of contracting COVID-19 would benefit most from a doctor’s visit, said Aimee Palumbo, an epidemiologist at Temple University.

“It’s better to treat something sooner than later, so it is still important to continue their care even while this is going on,” she told NPR.

With many hospitals, clinics, dental and medical offices now opening for routine care, Palumbo said concerned patients should not be afraid to ask health care providers what precautions have been put into place.

Some suggestions include:

• Do the staff and patients wear masks at all times?
• Will there be a limit to how many people are in the waiting room?
• Has the staff been tested for COVID-19?
• How often is the staff cleaning and sanitizing the premises?

Axia Women's Health, with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, announced that it is disinfecting all surfaces between patient’s visits, limiting the number of appointments scheduled, and screening all patients with questionnaires while monitoring patient temperatures.

“All staff are screened daily for COVID-19 symptoms and temperatures are checked twice daily,” they added, on their website.

Neil Fishman, an infectious disease expert and chief medical officer at the University of Pennsylvania said that he’s worried so many people have postponed routine medical visits.

“It’s critical,” Fishman told NPR, “for people to get regular physical exams, to get gynecological checkups, to get mammograms, and colonoscopies, and particularly flu shots during cold and flu season.”