We Are Committed to Your Health and Safety
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING COVID-19 AND OUR OFFICE
My Mission Is to Provide a Safe Environment to our Patients and Staff
We hope you and your family are in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months with COVID-19. As the economy slowly opens up, all of us at Woodside Dental are looking forward to returning to work in the “new normal”. 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. You may have observed this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it is safe as well as comfortable.
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 also follow the updates from these agencies closely on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
What are we doing for your safety?
On Appointment Day
- Please call the office from your car when you arrive to make sure we are ready for you before you come inside the office. Your companions need to stay in the car and wait.
- Please let us know ahead of time if someone has to accompany you into the office.
- We are taking this measure to minimize the contact between individuals and allow for social distancing.
Office Visit
- Please cover your face with a mask and/or cloth when entering the building.
- We will have hand sanitizer to use when you enter our practice.
- We will take your temperature when you arrive and anyone exhibiting an elevated temperature will be rescheduled.
- We have also implemented a “No Handshake Policy” at our office.
Time Allocation
- We are increasing the time that we allocate for each service.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you.
- We will also try our very best to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
Pre-appointment
- Our office will reach out with screening questions to make sure you are not sick.
- You may be asked those same questions again when you arrive in the office, and may be required to fill some patient forms digitally.
Appointment changes
- We may cancel appointments of patients with COVID-like symptoms such as fever, chills, coughing, sneezing, or loss of taste and smell.
- We will also cancel the appointments of any patients who have been in contact with a COVID-19 patient within the past 2 weeks.
Symptoms
- If you have been, or have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 , we will request physician clearance before your office visit.
- Any of our team members experiencing flu-like symptoms will be required to stay home and until cleared by a physician.
Office Protection
- We have air purifiers that clean the office air by UV, Hepa and carbon ionizer throughout the day.
- We have installed four Plexiglass sneeze shields in the front office area to protect you and our staff.
- We will be using aerosol reducer to reduce the aerosol formation in the office. We will use those with procedures that produce aerosols as needed.
During Dental Procedures
- We are changing our personal protective equipment (PPEs) between each patient.
- Before seeing each patient, we disinfect our hands and put on a new gown, gloves and mask.
- We ask you to rinse your mouth with 1% hydrogen peroxide before each procedure.
- Coronavirus is vulnerable to oxidation; this will reduce the salivary load of oral microbes.
Standard Safety
- As always. We dispose of any used disposable materials like suctions, surface barriers, gloves and gowns and never reuse them.
- We clean all the treatment room surfaces after each patient with hospital grade disinfectants that kill 99.9% of viruses, bacteria and spores.
- We pack and sterilize all the dental instruments that contact any patient and/or procedural aerosols with hospital grade autoclave equipment, as we have always done.
