Blog
As we resume seeing patients with non-urgent dental needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown, we want to lay out for our patients exactly what we are doing to keep you safe as you return to our clinic for your dental care.
As we resume seeing patients with non-urgent dental needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown, we want to lay out for our patients exactly what we are doing to keep you safe as you return to our clinic for your dental care. Thankfully, our practices follow very strict infection control, personal protective equipment, and sanitization protocols every day as part of our normal course of business. Even with our high standards, we have added increased measures during this time to ensure our clinical environments are safe.
We have crafted our plan to ensure that we are exceeding the guidelines laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Dental Association, OSHA, the Arkansas Department of Health.
Our Patients
- Offering masks to patients who do not have one. Please note: Our clinics have the adequate number of face masks to offer to patients. However, if you have your own face mask, please wear it and it will allow us to save masks for patients who do not have them.
- All patients will be asked to wait in the parking lot until they are called in for their procedure. All guests of the patient will be asked to remain in their car until the procedure has been completed.
- Limiting the number of patients and guests in the clinic at any given time. Adult patients will be asked to enter alone, while children and adults requiring special assistance will be permitted only one caregiver to enter the facility at a time.
- All patients will be screened for fever, symptoms, and underlying health conditions before entering the clinics. All patients will use an antimicrobial mouth rinse as a pretreatment measure.
- Sick patients will not be allowed to enter the clinic.
- Offering live video appointments for patients who are at risk, or are infected to be screened safely.
- Offering live video appointments for patients whose appointments do not require an in-person visit.
Our Staff
- Screening doctors and staff every morning for fever and symptoms of COVID-19
- Staff and patients will be limited in number based on CDC guidelines for each facility.
- Providing all proper personal protective equipment (PPE) including N95 masks, surgical gowns, gloves, masks, and face-shields.
- Observing excellent hand hygiene.
- Sick employees will not be allowed to enter the clinic.
- All procedures that create aerosols will require the use of a rubber dental dam to reduce the bacterial spread of aerosols.
Our Facilities
- Reducing the number of people coming into the office each day by limiting patient visits, limiting accompanying parties, and staff in each location.
- Removing all unnecessary items including magazines, remote controls, pamphlets, brochures, etc. from all waiting rooms and treatment rooms.
- Making hand sanitizer available all throughout the clinic.
- Disinfecting all surfaces in treatment rooms before and after each procedure.
- Extending time between appointments to allow for thorough disinfecting of spaces.
- Sterilizing all instruments.
- Patients will be separated by at least 6-feet for all procedures.
- Delivery personnel, vendors, etc. will be prohibited from entering the clinic. And if necessary, will follow the same procedures.
