We understand and deeply respect that you may be concerned about coronavirus in public places, even at our state-of-the-art sterilized office. Our first priority is and has always been the health and well-being of our patients. And that is a priority we take extremely seriously, even with the current disruptions we’re all experiencing.
As a dental practice, working in close quarters with the patients over so many years, we have developed heightened measures for sterilization and disinfection. Our office has always followed infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Before you enter the examining room, all surfaces, such as the dental chair, dental light, drawer handles and counter tops, have been cleaned and disinfected. We cover equipment with protective covers, which are replaced after each patient. Non-disposable items like the dental tools are cleaned and sterilized between patients. Disposable dental tools and needles are never reused.
Infection control precautions also require all dental staff involved in patient care to use appropriate protective equipment such as gloves, masks, gowns and eyewear. After each patient, disposable gloves and masks are thrown away. Before seeing the next patient, everyone on the treatment team washes their hands and put on a new pair of gloves.
In light of the current situation, we wanted to also let you know of some additional precautions and safety measures we are implementing to protect our patients and dental team:
- We will be limiting the number of patients in the office and they will be spread out appropriately.
- We have invested in a new feature for our HVAC system throughout the entire building that uses a UV light to kill germs, viruses, spores, mold, etc. We have also added additional air purifiers inside the building that provide surgically clean air using a combination of HVAC filters, additional UV light and ionization.