Safety
Our Commitment
It is our mission to provide the highest-quality dental care available, while creating and maintaining trust between our patients and team. We implement extra steps to make sure that you as a patient are assured of a safe dental experience. Your comfort and well-being are always top priority at our office.
Precautions
How we keep our patients safe
- Training & Screening
Hand-Washing
Research has shown that proper hand-washing is one of the best ways to prevent spread of infection. Our team is dedicated to proper hand-washing techniques before and after each patient encounter, as well as several times throughout the day.
Clean Equipment
Our clinical team wears equipment that includes a mask, face shield, gown and gloves to help protect them. After each appointment, disposable garments and accessories are discarded in a dedicated garbage within the treatment room.
Touch-Free Thermometer Testing
We use touch-free digital thermometers to take the temperature of all patients and team members when they arrive to our office. Anyone with an elevated temperature will be asked to reschedule.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
All patients are provided with antiseptic mouthwash prior to starting treatment.
Prevention
We encourage any staff member who is not feeling well to proactively stay at home for two weeks.
Safety Checklists
A specific checklist of recommendations has been created for our team to follow. They arrive to work healthy, and go home to their families confident that they are safe.
Vulnerable-Individual Care
Vulnerable individuals, such as seniors and those with underlying health conditions will be given specific appointment times to limit contact with others.
Screenings
Patients are screened on the phone for any symptoms of COVID-19 and instructed to reschedule their appointments if they are not feeling well. This screening is repeated as each patient enters the office.
Limiting Staff
We limit the number of staff within the office at some times, and ask them to practice social distancing when necessary.
- Aerosols & Clean Air
Aerosol production occurs with the use of our high-speed dental drill, as well as the ultrasonic scaler and polisher during routine dental cleanings. The following are precautions that our office takes to reduce and contain any aerosols that are produced:
Treatment Rooms
Dedicated treatment rooms that have closed doors to ensure no aerosols are able to leave and enter the hallways.
Limiting Staff
We only allow our patient, dentist and dental assistants in the treatment room during the production of aerosols.
Dental Suction
A high-volume dental suction device is always be used during the production of aerosols, this has been shown to dramatically reduce the dispersal.
HEPA Filters
Every treatment room has its own dedicated hospital grade HEPA filter, which filters the air many-times-per-hour. We allow time between patients to ensure proper filtration of each treatment room. We are confident that when you enter our office, the air has been cleaned and is safe for you to breathe.
PPE
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial in dentistry, and we always supply our staff with comprehensive PPE; including access to isolation gowns, face shields and N95 masks as warranted.
Sanitization
We use the most up-to-date sterilization practices, and track the adequacy of our sterilization techniques through biological spore testing and instrument quarantine. After each patient, a dedicated staff member disinfects all hard surfaces, chairs and equipment in each treatment room. Our dental office is the cleanest space that most of our patients enter in their daily lives.
