As we wait for this lockdown to finally end, I have been thinking about ways COVID has changed our experience in the clinic and I remembered a time when I was assisting an operator who had a very eager and motivated patient. The patient was very excited to get a clean as she was feeling very self-conscious about her teeth. Due to Covid procedures, the patient was wearing a mask throughout all our discussions regarding her concerns. When the patient took off her mask to do the mouthwash before starting treatment there was a cold sore and as we were taught cold sores can be a danger to both the patient and operator they can cause eye infections leading to blindness or even spread to other areas or to the operator. This experience really gave me more confidence in being about to have difficult conversations with patients because we had to explain why we could not go on with the treatment today for their safety and ours. The patient also was not too happy for having so much of their time wasted. The operator and I felt very guilty because we had the patient in the chair for around 25-30 minutes before we were able to see the cold sore and I do believe if it had not been for COVID restrictions, such as the patient only being able to remove the mask during treatment the cold sore could have been identified earlier and we could have wasted less patient time. Overall this was a valuable lesson in patient and operator health and safety and learning to adjust to dental care during a pandemic.