Infection Control
Our procedures and protocols have always been:
• Wearing new, disposable non-latex gloves while treating each patient.
• Wearing a face mask covering our mouth and nose and protective eyewear while treating patients.
• Disposable surgical gowns & caps during invasive treatment.
• Washing our hands with antibacterial soap between every patient.
• Wiping the treatment chair, equipment, countertops, and cabinets in the room after we see each patient with the highest-level disinfecting towelettes designed for hospitals and healthcare settings.
• Plastic barrier film or plastic coverings over our chair headrests and other areas commonly used.
•Using Rubber Dam barrier material when using our handpiece to lower the inhalation and exhalation of aerosol.
• All our instruments are run through a professional disinfectant, bagged, sealed and heat sterilized in our Midmark or Statim autoclave sterilizer machines. Our machines are spore tested weekly by an independent company.
We have added additional measures for the safety of our team and patients as follows:
• Additional personal protection equipment (PPE) for our team including face shields and NK95 masks.
• Cuffed scrub jackets changed after each patient.
• Additional intraoral suction appliances to minimize aerosol production:
Isodry continuous suction in all rooms for use during dental procedures. These continuous suction appliances are proven to reduce aerosols and splatter up to 90% during dental procedures.
• Parking lot check in for dental appointments.
• Additional hand sanitizer stations for our patients and staff.
• Acrylic barriers to protect our patients and team members at check in and check out.
•In addition, we have instituted pre-screening protocols and procedures. These pre-screening steps will ensure that we are taking every precaution to eliminate the chances of COVID-19 entering our office space.
• Prior to entering our office, you will call us from your automobile at 614-261-7210 to complete our screening steps. Please assist us with the following protocols and procedures:
• Complete a consent and Patient Advisory and Acknowledgement for patients receiving dental treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic (questionnaire). This may be completed verbally or upon arrival, but will need to be signed by the patient or responsible party.
• Temperatures will be taken of all individuals prior to entering our office. No one will enter the office with a temperature higher than 100.1.
Please Note: Any patient with COVID symptoms or a temperature will not be seen. (If it is an emergency, an after-hours appointment will be made to avoid contact with other patients and or staff members).
• Everyone is asked to wear a mask into our office. We ask that you bring one but if you do not have one, we will provide.
• When your scheduled provider is ready for you, we will contact you and have you proceed to check-in at our front desk. We will ask you to wait in your car until we contact you when we are ready.
• We are asking that only patients that are being seen enter our office. If a person is offering you a ride, or is a caretaker, and cannot stay in their car, we will screen them, provide them with a mask and ask that they wait in our reception area. Please note that we have removed most of our chairs to allow social distancing. All that enter our office will be asked to comply with social distancing of at least 6 feet and we will have taped floors as a reminder.
• All patients will be asked to wash their hands or hand sanitize when entering the operatories and rinse their mouths with a 1.5% hydrogen peroxide mouthwash.
• Hand sanitizer is readily available throughout the office and all who are in our office are encouraged to use it.
• We will ensure that all patients remain 6 feet apart during check-in and check-out procedures and have adjusted our schedule accordingly.
• Common touched surfaces will be disinfected between patients by our staff.
• We are going to minimize our team’s physical contact right now with patients and families, so we have asked our team members not to shake hands or hug.
• These new procedures, guidelines and mandates can create a financial burden on most family dental practices. We are asking our patients to support us by paying a $25 PPE/COVID-19 fee to offset our expenses. This fee will allow us to continue to deliver the same outstanding dental treatment to our patients in the safest environment possible. Many insurance carriers have instituted a policy to cover this ADA code D1999 PPE/COVID-19 fee. Please let us know if this fee creates a hardship for you as we want to make sure you are taken care of during this time.