Overview

All changes in protocols and procedures are in agreement with the recommendations of the CDC, ADA, WSDA, and Washington State Department of Health. Many of the changes we have made exceed these recommendations. This will greatly reduce the volume of patients we can see in a given time and also will limit some typical types of procedures to prevent spreading the virus. Your patience and understanding is appreciated. All this is being done to protect everyone. It is our belief that the single most important issue here is everyone's safety including the patients, staff, and doctor along with each of their families.

We currently will be scheduling a small number of patients each day to make sure we achieve our social distancing and safety goals/requirements. It is unlikely that this number will increase significantly during this pandemic as we are limited by our physical space.

We are working hard to get the office and staff ready to get all of your treatment back on schedule and your patience is appreciated.

Patient Check in Process

We will call you to confirm your appointment one day ahead of time. At that time we will make sure we have a cell phone number on which to reach you. We ask that you show up to the office on time. No one will be allowed into the office except at his/her appointment time to prevent patients congregating in the reception area. Please do not enter the office until you have been called and asked to do so.

No one is allowed in the office except patients unless there is an urgent need i.e. young child with one parent. Parents can also watch or supervise from the window if desired

Each patient will undergo a quick health screening including non-contact temperature reading and questionnaire when they first enter the office. Patients who show any symptom of COVID-19 (Cough, Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, Fever, Chills, Muscle pain, Sore throat, loss of taste or smell) will not be seen that day or for 14 days. We will also do a phone screening the day before so the appointment can be rescheduled if there is a health issue that will prevent the patient from being seen the next day.

EACH PATIENT WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK WHEN THEY ARRIVE. You are required to bring your own mask, homemade cloth masks are acceptable and must be worn at all times in the office except during actual treatment. Our supply of masks is limited at this time so we ask you to help by providing your own masks.

There will be NO TOOTHBRUSHING at the office to minimize the creation of aerosols in a public space. Please arrive with teeth clean and ready for treatment or you may be sent home.

RESTROOMS - There are restrooms in the foyer that you are welcome to use. We ask that you not use our restroom so it can be reserved for staff members.

Physical Changes to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19

We have installed an air purifier in our heating and cooling system. This is a hospital grade air purifier and is used by NASA on space shuttles to remove harmful viruses and bacteria.

We are fogging the rooms between each patient with a solution of hypochlorous acid. This has been shown to kill bacteria and viruses in 5 seconds. It is non-corrosive and leaves no residue. It is also produced by our own white blood cells.

The number of patients and staff in the office has been reduced to allow social distancing.

The dental vacuum system has been modified to remove any aerosols during treatment and remove them from the facility.

All disinfection and sterilization protocols have been updated and reviewed.

Operational Controls

Patients entering and exiting the office will be controlled and monitored to prevent more than one patient from coming or going at the same time. No one will be allowed in the office without permission.

A maximum of 2 patients will be allowed in the office at any one time and will be separated by at least 10 feet at all times to maintain social distancing requirements. This also reduces the staffing required which also allows proper social distancing to be achieved.

To reduce the time spent and the number of people coming into the office, all appointments will be scheduled in the treatment room before the patient has left or via a phone call after the appointment. The staff will not be collecting payment at the office other than via the phone or mail.

Personal Protective Equipment

In order to protect the staff and doctor we are following the OSHA guidelines for PPE. Therefore, the following PPE will be required when seeing ANY patient for ANY procedure:

1) N95 or equivalent Respirator that has been properly fit tested and checked on each provider

2) Full Face shield to prevent aerosols from contacting the eyes or mucous membranes and to minimize contamination of the respirator

3) Gloves

4) Strict adherence to proper donning and doffing procedures

6) All patients will wear masks at all times in the office except when they are actually being treated. Again we ask each patient to show up with his/her own mask to help us maintain our necessary supply