COVID-19 Health & Safety Protocols

The safety of our patients and team has always been a priority and will continue to be a priority. During our time apart, we have implemented additional safeguards and procedures to protect you and our team during your visits with our office. Every effort we have in place is to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. Thank you in advance for cooperating with us as we all adapt to these changes. They are for your safety and the safety of our team.

Safety Protocols for Your Visit

  1. Pre-appointment screening call. We will call our patients to ensure that you have not been sick, had a fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, sore throat, or that you have been out of the country or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
  2. Only the patient will be permitted to enter the office. We ask that any person accompanying the patient wait in or near the car.
  3. Patients’ temperature will be taken and screening questions reviewed at the front door after entering the office, and hand sanitizer will be provided. We will make every attempt to make any in-office wait minimal. Once in the reception area we encourage you to observe our recommended setup for social distancing.
  4. Safe Finances. To avoid unnecessary contact, ie. wallets, credit cards, etc., patients will be asked for payment over the phone prior to the appointment. If this cannot be accomplished, payment can be made in the office with the help of hand sanitizers before and after the payment.
  5. Room disinfection. All rooms will continue to be thoroughly disinfected with strong antiviral and antibacterial agents before and after patient visits. All surfaces are sprayed and wiped. This has been our standard protocol before COVID and will remain our standard protocol.
  6. Personal protective equipment. All team members will wear masks and any other personal protective equipment required, depending upon their position. For example, the team members at the front office only need to wear masks, but the clinical staff will wear masks, gloves, eye protection, face shields, head covers, shoe covers and gowns.

Health & Safety Protocols

Training and Educating Our Team

Our doctors and staff have been re-trained on cleaning and disinfection protocols. In addition, all staff have been trained on COVID-19 cleaning and disinfection protocols, the appropriate use of personal protective equipment, and on new technologies that will minimize the production of aerosols produced in dental procedures.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

Not only have we been using enhanced sterilization protocols during the treatment of emergency patients over the past month, but we have taken time to clean, organize, and sanitize the office. We have trained and implemented new sterilization protocols to make this space as safe as possible for you and our team.

Handwashing

We have trained on the proper way to wash hands. While basic, this is one of the most important things we can do in our office, and at home with family and friends to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. We have spent time making sure our staff does it well and that they understand the importance of this measure.

Patient Screening

COVID-19 Questionnaire

Please fill out our secure online COVID-19 Questionnaire Form. After you have completed the form, please make sure to press the Complete and Send button at the bottom to automatically send us your information. The security and privacy of your personal data is one of our primary concerns and we have taken every precaution to protect it.

COVID-19 Questionnaire

Our staff is calling all patients to confirm appointments and screen patients for symptoms of COVID-19. We are also collecting payment for your procedure ahead of time if you wish to minimize your contact with our staff and shorten your length of time in our office. At check-in, we are screening all patients by taking a digital temperature reading. Any patient presenting with a temperature over 100.4°F is rescheduled.

Hand Sanitizer

We have added additional hand sanitizer stations throughout the office for patients and staff. At check-in all patients are encouraged to use hand sanitizer and to wash their hands prior to their appointment.

Screening of Staff

Upon entering our office, all staff are screened. Anyone who displays a temperature over 100.4°F will be sent home and directed to appropriate medical care. Staff will not be allowed to return to work until they are well.

Social Distancing

We have arranged our reception area to allow for social distancing of patients. We have also changed the flow of your visit to our office to limit interaction with others during your visit. We have also arranged our staff workstations and altered our work-flow to allow for social distancing of staff members as much as possible.

Personal Protective Equipment

We have revisited the correct way to put on and take off personal protective equipment (PPE). We have practiced putting on and taking off and learned about what types of PPE are appropriate for what settings based on the CDC’s new interim guidelines.

Safeguards

We have re-trained on proven dental techniques to help minimize the generation of aerosols during procedures. We have also invested in new equipment and products that are shown to decrease aerosols and splatter from dental procedures.

Treating you is a privilege. We have taken all possible steps to make your visit with our office as safe as possible for you and our team.