It is hard to grasp that COVID-19 has disrupted lives all over the world for over a year now. As our communities continue to feel the impact, we understand that you may be concerned regarding any upcoming dental health appointments. During our 2-month closure in the Spring of 2020, there was a lot of uncertainty, however some things remained certain, including the need for dental care to prevent and treat oral disease and maintain oral and systemic health. Another was our dedication to the health and safety of team members and patients.
We continue to see increased emergency care and more dental issues than usual as our patients have had to miss their appointments due to the pandemic. Periodontal maintenance appointments are important to evaluate, diagnose and prevent oral disease. Our goal is to take care of our patients’ needs and to make sure everyone feels safe at our office.
As a daily practice, we are abiding by and exceeding, the science-based precautions outlined by the federal and state standards of infection control. In following the current guidelines, we are reducing your risk of exposure to its lowest possible level. Our high stand of care ensures your trust and safety are never compromised.
Since reopening in May 2020, we remain dedicated in our commitment to protect all our patients and team members with the following protocols:
- Before and on the day of an appointment every patient must complete a comprehensive COVID-19 screening questionnaire either verbally or online.
- Each team member is temperature checked and symptom-assessed prior to the start of each day.
- When arriving for your appointment, we ask that you call us when you arrive to check in and we will text or call you when our team is ready to see you. This reduces the number of patients in the waiting area and allows for social distancing.
- All patients and team members are required to wear a mask at all times in the building and office.
- We have professionally installed barriers at the front desk for increased safety of patients and team members.
- Upon entering our office, a team member will meet you in full PPE (N95 mask, gown, head and face protection) and ask you to sanitize your hands with sanitizer we have available, and then we will take your temperature using a touchless thermometer.
- All appointments are more spread out to allow for less office traffic, and more time for cleaning of the air and operatory between patients.
- We have researched and installed state of the art HyperHEPA air purification throughout the office, which work by filtering bacteria and viruses, and cleaning and changing the air numerous times per hour (IQ Air, Blue Air).
- We will ask you to pre-rinse with a peroxide based anti-microbial rinse to reduce the amount of possible bacteria/viruses that could be spread.
- Our clinical staff wears all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including: face shields/glasses, specialized n95 masks, protective lab coat, hair coverings, and gloves. All PPE is changed after every patient.
- ULV Vector fogging of hallways and operatories using HOCl (Hypochlorous acid), a safe, all natural, biologically friendly disinfectant that kills bacteria, spores, and viruses (including COVID-19) 100x more effectively than chlorine bleach.
Our team has always been committed to exceeding patients’ expectations by providing the most advanced care and customer service in the industry.
Throughout the challenges faced in this pandemic, we remain vigilant towards maintaining the health and safety of our family of patients and team members. Please do not hesitate to call and discuss your concerns or questions so that we can best accommodate you!
Warmest regards,
Dr. Matt Ficca and Team