OFFICE SAFETY PROTOCOL
Our Commitment to Safety
We recognize times have changed. Priorities have shifted. Today, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our team and patients. With this in mind, we are happy to share the additional steps we are taking to make every visit to our office as safe as possible.
These actions are incremental to our normal standards of care that meet and exceed all CDC, OSHA and ADA guidelines for dental practices.
Our goal is to add peace-of-mind to the friendliness and clinical excellence you have come to expect. Of course, this is part of an on-going commitment that will evolve with the times. As always, we welcome the opportunity to answer any of your questions and to address all concerns.
We are in this together, and we will never underestimate the power of a smile!
ADVANCED STAFF TRAINING
Each member of our team has completed additional awareness and prevention programs to enhance their knowledge and preparedness.
DAILY HEALTH CHECKS OF OUR TEAM
Temperature checks and a quick set of questions will ensure our team is ready, willing and able to provide safe dental care – every day.PRE-APPOINTMENT SCREENING
To help make sure that patients arriving for their appointments are healthy, we may call you before your appointment and ask you some questions about your current health. We will also repeat these questions when you arrive to make sure nothing has changed.
NO HANDSHAKES OR HUGS
We truly do love our patients. However, we will save our hearty welcomes and goodbyes for a later date when things are “back to normal”.NO OFFICE TOURS
We enjoy starting every new patient visit by showing off our amazing practice. These tours will have to wait for your next visit.
CHANGE WORK CLOTHES AT WORK
In the past, you might have seen us at the grocery store in our stylish scrubs. No longer. Now, we change into and out of our newly-cleaned scrubs at the office, every day.PLEASE WEAR PROTECTIVE MASK
If your state or city is requiring people to wear masks in public, be sure to wear one to your appointment. When you arrive at our dental office, you may be asked to wait outside until they’re ready for you. This will reduce the number of people in the office and reduce the amount of time you’re close to other people.
NO PATIENT GLOVES ALLOWED
Minimizing cross-contamination is an important part of our plan. We will ask you to dispose of any outside gloves before you enter.SEQUENCED PATIENT SCHEDULING
Plain and simple, we are not seeing as many patients. We are allocating more time between visits for coming, going and cleaning.
PRE-SCREENING OF EVERY PATIENT
A quick health questionnaire and consent form along with a temperature check will be completed when you arrive at our office.EXPANDED PATIENT APPOINTMENTS
In an effort to save you time and multiple exposures, we are offering extended appointments. This allows us to do more dentistry in a single visit.
HAND SANITIZING STATION
Every patient will be asked to thoroughly disinfect their hands before entering the clinical area of our practice.SOCIAL DISTANCING IN PLACE
Fewer patients in our reception area, and helpful marked areas make 6’ spacing a practical reality.
CLEANING AFTER EVERY APPOINTMENT
We are super clean as we thoroughly wipe, sanitize, and disinfect all instruments, equipment and surfaces in each operatory after every patient.DEEP CLEANING EVERY EVENING
Along with cleaning and sanitizing during the day, we take things to another level at night with a thorough top-to-bottom scrub down.
CDC-APPROVED INSTRUMENT STERILIZATION
This is standard procedure at all times, and nothing has changed. Anything that goes near your mouth is heat and pressure cleaned between every use.N95 & ASTM LEVEL 3 MASKS
The beautiful smiles of our clinical team – dentists, hygienists, and assistants – will be protected behind double-masking at all times.
FRONT DESK MASKS
Even our friendly administrative team will be wearing masks. Don’t worry. They are smiling behind them!PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
When you’re in the dental chair, you may notice some things look different from the last time you were there. The dentist may have covered the computer’s keyboard with a disposable cover so it can be easily cleaned between patients, for example. Your dentist may also be using different protective equipment than they’ve used at previous appointments. This could include different masks, face shields, gowns and goggles. These additional precautions help protect both you and the dentist.
DISPOSABLE, PROTECTIVE COATS
When appropriate, our team will utilize another layer of protection to minimize the spread or absorption of airborne particles.ADVANCED CHAIRSIDE SUCTION
Whenever possible, we will activate high speed evacuation to minimize aerosol contamination and improve air quality.
NO MAGAZINES OR ACTIVITIES
Inside the office, you may notice things people often touch in the waiting room – like toys or magazines – have been removed. They may have hand sanitizer available for you to use and may wipe down items you touch, such as pens, clipboards or furniture. This may make our reception area a little less exciting, but it makes it much safer as well.NO FAMILY OR FRINDS ALLOWED
We ask that you limit the number of people you bring to the appointment. That means leaving your children at home or allowing your spouse or older children to go into the office alone while their parent waits outside during their treatment.
AFTER YOUR DENTAL VISIT
After your appointment is over, the staff will thoroughly clean the areas where you’ve been using disinfectants that are effective against the virus that causes COVID-19 to prepare for the next patient. This helps reduce the risk of illness being passed to others.
If you start feeling ill with the symptoms of COVID-19 within 14 days of your appointment, call the dental office. You may have already been carrying the virus at the time of your appointment, so anyone who came into contact with you during that time could be at risk for getting sick too.