At Wellness Dental our practice philosophy has always been focused on preventive oral healthcare. That is because dentistry is essential in evaluating, diagnosing, preventing and treating oral diseases which can affect systemic health. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement advising that routine non-essential oral health care—such as check-ups, dental cleanings, and preventive care—be delayed until there has been sufficient reduction in COVID-19 transmission rates. Of course we feel it is important to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission, however we strongly disagree that the risk of transmission increases with a visit to our office or that dental offices are contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Another statement was release soon after that the WHO guidance, does suggest delaying routine oral health in an intense uncontrolled community transmission scenario. A scenario that does not fit with the current situation of most countries around the world
We understand that at this time patients have different levels of comfort when it comes their risk to exposure of Covid-19 and we have patients who are choosing to delay preventive care. For those of you who are ready to come to the dental office we want to ensure you we are following the guidelines set for us by the Center of Disease and Control.
All staff members are screened upon arrival, their temperatures are taken and logged. Staff are encouraged to maintain 6 ft of social distancing when not performing their job duties during break and lunch. Everyone in the office is required to don a level 2 procedure mask regardless of if they are involved in clinical care or not. All employees that participate in clinical care are provided surgical masks, eye protection, surgical gowns, face shields and respirator masks. Clinicians are encouraged to don the appropriate PPE for each clinical situation.
When you are here at the office you may notice some visible changes as well. We have rearranged the waiting room in order to allow social distancing. Patients may either wait in our waiting room or in their car and request a text when their room is ready.
An assistant will greet you and take your temperature, any patient with a temperature over 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit will be asked to leave and will be reappointed. Before being seated in the operatory all patients will be asked to rinse with 1.5% hydrogen peroxide which will help to decrease the viral load present in any asymptomatic patients.
The office has a total of 7 new medical grade air filters from Surgically Clean Air including one air filter in every operatory. That means all the air in our office runs through an air filter every 10 minutes. All providers will try to be efficient and thorough with their procedures. As a team we have decided to minimize the use of any aerosol producing equipment. The use of the water scaler and polishing teeth after your dental cleaning may be skipped if the hygienist finds it unnecessary. Of course, this is determined on a case by case basis. Our office we will continue to use a dental dam for all restorative dental procedures, this dam, though cumbersome at times will decrease transmission of virus load by keeping it trapped in your mouth! If an aerosol producing procedure is completed the air filter in the operatory will be turned on to the TURBO setting to efficiently clear the aerosols created. Lastly, we updated our HVAC system and installed a return air plenum above each dental chair. This helps with the air circulation in the back office.
During these uncertain times we want to make sure that your visit to our office is as stress free as possible so if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to us and hopefully we will be able to set you at ease.
PS: If you can’t make it in for your regular preventive appointment, remember, brushing twice a day and flossing once a day keeps the sugar bugs away.