We hope you and your family are in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety. Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice as you may have seen during your previous visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe. Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association® (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up to date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agency’s recommendations. You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example, for your safety, when returning to our office, the following protocols will be in effect:
• All staff will be wearing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is disposed of after each patient.
• We are lengthening the procedure times and the times between appointments to allow for double sterilization of each operatory after each procedure. You may notice a slight changing in your appointment time due to this.
• Your temperature will be taken and documented upon arrival.
• Only two patients will be allowed in the reception area at a time to ensure social distancing.
• We will be requesting patients wear face masks when able to during their visits.
• Each morning, our staff will undergo a series of questions that would indicate any risk for COVID-19 in addition to having their temperatures taken.
• We will be working with the landlord on cleaning all common areas in the building, including the elevator, door handles and bathrooms.
• Patients over the age of 65 are advised to consider postponing any non-emergency or elective dental care.
• As added safety measures, we recommend that patients with known preexisting medical conditions, including obesity, diabetes, COPD, hypertension, cardiovascular or immune-suppressed individuals, consider postponing any non-emergency or elective dental care.
In addition to the protocols above, we will be implementing precautions to limit production of aerosols, including utilization of rubber dams and Isolite® suction and temporarily eliminating the use of the dental hygiene air polisher and ultrasonic instrument.
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We appreciate your cooperation and understanding while these safety protocols are in place. We feel confident that by following these protocols, we can safely practice dentistry and provide you with the best possible care. Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends to the office.