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ENHANCED PATIENT AND TEAM SAFETY MEASURES

BRINGING YOU THE BEST

Our office has always adhered to the stringent procedures outlined in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings. The thorough and rigorous cleaning, sterilization and disinfection of all instruments and surfaces are routine and second nature to us, as they are throughout dentistry - these precautions make dental offices highly uncommon sources of disease transmission. We would like to explain the many steps we have always followed to keep you, and ourselves, safe, including the additional precautions we have implemented specifically to address COVID-19.

HyperHEPA filtration with Aerosol capture

The IQAir HealthPro Series features HyperHEPA filtration technology for superior airborne particle removal, tested and certified by an independent third-party lab to effectively filter harmful ultrafine pollution particles down to 0.003 microns in size – 100x smaller than what is achieved with ordinary air filtration technology and 10x smaller than a virus. Ultrafine particles are smaller than 0.1 microns, make up about 90% of all airborne particles, and have been linked to heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and even cancer. IQAir’s HyperHEPA filtration in the HealthPro Series is proven and certified to filter at least 99.5% of all particles down to 0.003 microns – the smallest particles that exist.

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Video demonstrating IQAir HealthPro Series:

Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water

An electrolytically generated solution (hypochlorous acid (HOCl)), that is all natural and used in hospitals, hotels, cruise ships, organic food sanitation and many other industries. HOCl has been studied for over 100 years and it is an undeniable fact that it is a more powerful oxidant than chlorine bleach. It can kill pathogens on contact by damaging cell walls or by inactivating the pathogen by entering and disrupting proteins, lipids, and DNA. HOCl kills bacteria, bacterial spores, and viruses 100 times more effectively than chlorine bleach and is currently on the EPA list as effective against the human coronavirus and considered safe in and on food, dairy and potable water. We have invested in the technology to make the solution on site, so that it stays in its most fresh and effective form.

To learn more about electrolyzed water research visit:

https://www.ecoloxtech.com/research-healthindustry?industry=Health

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Cold Ultra Low Volume Fogging Technology

In order to make sure every possible surface is disinfected we have also invested in fogging technology that allows us to disinfect areas that are hard to reach; such as walls, ceilings, underneath furniture, and crevices that cannot easily be reached. Fogging also allows us to disinfect the air in the office to eliminate airborne particles of virus and bacteria that may have been aerosolized. Furthermore, we are sanitizing and disinfecting these areas by using an all-natural solution (Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water - HOCl) that requires no special protective gear. In fact, the solution can be used to clean your food.

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Non-Contact Temperature Checks

In addition to our COVID-19 screening questionnaire that we ask patients to answer before the appointment and upon arriving at the office the day of their appointment, patients will also have their temperature checked with a non-contact thermometer. Anyone with a temperature over 100.4 will be asked to reschedule their appointment.

Patient Protection Options

In the news you have heard numerous stories about the shortage of personal protective equipment, and we have done our part to protect our team with the proper equipment. With that being said we want our patients to be as comfortable as possible, so we have created a protection amenities station for you to pick the items that make you feel more comfortable. These include items protective shove covers, hair covers, and over gloves. We also have hand sanitizer readily available throughout the office.

Additional Measures:

  • Cleaning our office using products from the EPA’s approved list of registered surface disinfectants for use against COVID-19 and following the specific time allowed for these agents to reach their full effectiveness.

  • Carefully following all national, state, and local official guidelines, including the CDC’s specific recommendations for our care providers to use Personal Protective Equipment like masks, eye protection, face shields, etc.

  • Pre-screening patients and not treating anyone with a fever, dry cough, or other symptoms of a respiratory illness. delete?

  • Not allowing staff members to work if they are personally experiencing any respiratory symptoms. The entire team will also be screened and have their temperatures taken upon arrival for work and logging this data.

  • Taking extra care to regularly wipe down common touch points such as door handles, non-clinical surface counters, and pens.

  • All water lines will be shock treated and tested for colony forming units both at the point of water filtration and at the point of each treatment room to ensure safety for our patients. We had already had very stringent protocols and a state-of-the-art water treatment filtration unit installed to filter all of the water used in our office to ensure its safety and cleanliness.

  • Streamlining our procedures for check-in of patients. This includes but is not limited to asking patients to minimize companions that accompany them to their appointments to only essential guardians as in the case of a minor or another person needing either physical or mental and emotional assistance. We are also making accommodations for patients who prefer to wait in their vehicles for their appointment time to be brought directly into their treatment room. This will minimize the number of patients in the reception area.

  • Sneeze guards have been put up on all reception check-in and check-out areas.

  • Masks or face coverings will be mandatory for all people entering our office.

How We Sanitize Exam and Treatment Rooms:

Before you enter the exam room, all surfaces have been cleaned and disinfected, including the dental chair, overhead light, drawer handles, countertops, and sinks. Basically, we sanitize everything that has been touched or could have been touched. Any protective covers that are necessary are replaced and disposed of for every patient as well. The solutions we use are professional-grade and designed specifically for clinical environments. We also wash our hands with soap and water and use hand sanitizer on our hands frequently throughout the day and always before and after any patient contact.

How We Sterilize Instruments:

Our non-disposable items like handpieces (commonly known as drills) and other instruments, are carefully cleaned and sterilized in a designated area of our practice using hospital-grade equipment. It’s not like washing dishes at home. We use precision tools like ultrasonic cleaning followed by high-temperature autoclaves to sterilize. We also use both in house testing daily and third party testing weekly to monitor these processes and ensure they are working up to their complete sterilization levels. We visually monitor all instruments after the sterilization process and keep them in sealed packages until they are opened for use for each patient chair-side. After opening these sterile packages, the contents are only touched with clean gloved hands. Once again, cleaners, detergents and other chemicals being used are designed specifically for clinical and not household use. We are proud of our state-of-the-art sterilization system and would gladly show off our process if any of our patients are interested.

How We Use Disposable Items:

We use as many unit does and disposable items as possible, such as needles, gloves, masks, suction, and air/water syringe tips. We also place barriers on items that go into patients mouths to ensure cross contamination will not occur from instruments such as on dental curing lights and x-ray sensors. Many of you have experienced treatment with two different types of intraoral suction devices we have been using in our office called Isolite and the ReLeafs. These plastic mouthpieces are also designated for use only on a single patient and are disposed of after your visit. After each patient, disposable items are carefully discarded according to current guidelines.

How We Are Protecting Ourselves:

In order for us to provide safe dental care to all of our valued patients, we have to ensure the safety of the work environment of our dental team. We have recently upgraded some of the Personal Protective Equipment we will be using daily in our office to align or surpass the CDC’s new guidelines. This equipment includes but is not limited to surgical gowns that are laundered in a medical service facility, face shields, head coverings, custom 3-D printed face mask frames on top of surgical masks or N95 and KN95 masks. Also, employees will have separate shoes that are used only in the office and so they will not bring in any outside contaminants. We may appear a bit more “surgical” in our gear than most of our patients have been accustomed to in the past but be assured we are still giving you the same big smiles under all of this new gear that you are used to! Like you, we have families and loved ones who rely on us to work safely and not bring home any germs to them at the end of the day.

How We Are Welcoming You Back:

You’ll notice some changes in advance of your next dental appointment. We will be calling or electronically contacting you prior to your arrival date to screen you for any symptoms which would require us to postpone your appointment. If any of the answers to these screening questions point to the fact that you may have been exposed to or have symptoms of COVID-19 we will direct, you to your healthcare provide for testing and/or treatment. On that call or email we can also answer any questions you may have and further explain our new procedures for when you arrive to your appointment. Once you do arrive, we will again ask you these same screening questions to ensure nothing has changed since our last conversation with you and we will be taking your temperature. While we understand that these additional safety procedures may be inconvenient, they are necessary to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect all of our patients as well as our team.

Dental care is vital to stay healthy and prevent minor issues from progressing into painful, complex and more costly conditions! Please rest assured that our office is likely one of the most thoroughly cleaned and disinfected environments you can possibly be in. We’ve missed you and look forward to serving you again.

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