Our Enhanced COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Creating a safe and clean space for your peace of mind.

 

Dentistry has always been a close contact, in-your-face profession. As dental care providers, we’ve been trained and are constantly re-trained in infection protocol measures and practices. So it is during this health crisis that we are stepping up our game in infection control to provide you some peace of mind during your next dental appointment.

It’s very important to us that we provide you with a safe and clean environment. We’ve been working hard in developing new protocols and re-enforcing existing ones. Here are the things you can expect to see during your next dental appointment:

General Changes

  • All Staff and Dentists have been fully vaccinated

  • All patients will be screened using a short questionnaire in addition to a temperature check before each visit. All staff will be screened daily and tested regularly as well.

  • Everyone will be required to wear a face mask/covering in the office and hand sanitize immediately after coming in to the office.

  • Patients will not be allowed to bring guests into the office.

  • The lobby floors will be marked for physical distancing between staff and patients.

  • The front desk will have screens/barriers in place to protect you and the front desk staff.

  • Beverage self-service and magazines have been temporarily removed from the lobby.

  • Clean pens are placed on the front desk for one-time use and can be taken home or disposed of.

Scheduling

The number of patients we see in a day will be reduced to help decrease physical interactions and also increase time to clean and disinfect the treatment rooms after every patient.

Patients will be seated in a different room from the last patient that was seen, allowing more time for rooms to be thoroughly disinfected.

Disinfection and Sterilization

Things we’ve always been doing:

The dental chairs and treatment area are thoroughly disinfected with EPA-approved medical-grade disinfectants before and after each patient.

All suction lines are run with medical-grade detergent between patients.

Dental instruments are heat sterilized using an autoclave that is tested regularly to ensure proper function.

Dental instruments are processed in a clean and streamlined sterilization center for optimal infection control.

Things we’re adding:

The lobby area will be disinfected periodically throughout the day and after each patient’s entry and exit.

Environmentally and biologically-friendly EPA-approved hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in fine mist/aerosol form will be used to disinfect each room after each patient. HOCl is super oxidized saline and the ingredients are just distilled water and table salt, but it’s known to be more efficient than bleach in killing 99.9% of viruses. Click here to learn more about HOCl.

Aerosol Control

HEPA air purifiers will be used in each treatment room.

All patients will be asked to rinse with 1% hydrogen peroxide before the start of each treatment to momentarily decrease microbes in the mouth.

In addition to the usual high velocity evacuation (HVE) suction, which normally reduces dental aerosols by 90-98%, an additional intra-oral high evacuation system will be simultaneously used for most procedures to further minimize spatter and aerosolization.

Reducing Cross Contamination

You may notice colorful lines on the floors while heading to your dental chair. These are visual markers of zones in the office that remind staff to wear and take off certain PPE in different zones. This helps us leave behind possibly contaminated items and clothing in one area of the office and keep the rest of the office space safer.

A dedicated decontamination area will be set up for staff. By isolating a specific area of the office to wear and take off PPE, cross contamination of the office can be drastically reduced.

Staff are trained to wear and take off PPE properly and wash hands regularly throughout the work day.

PPE

Staff will be wearing enhanced PPE including:

  • face shields

  • disposable gowns

  • head coverings

  • work-only scrubs

  • work-only shoes

  • special masks

We hope that these protocols will put your mind at ease. Please know that we will always put the health and safety of our patients before anything else. If you have any questions or concerns regarding safety or our infection control protocols, please don’t hesitate to contact us.