The COVID pandemic has permeated every aspect of our lives, not the least of which is fear of going to the dentist. The dentist’s office is actually a very safe place to be during a viral outbreak because dentists are trained in infection control.
These are some of the precautions we are taking to keep us all safe in our office:
We screen everyone who enters our office with questions, temperature check, and smell test.
Everyone who comes into our office washes their hands with soap and water or uses hand sanitizer.
We all wear masks (over our mouths and noses) in the office, except the patient who is actively being treated.
Patients, who will be removing their masks in our office, rinse with either IoRinse molecular iodine, or a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water to inactivate any potential COVID virus.
We use high speed suction during aerosol producing procedures to vacuum out airborne microbes (i.e., germs).
We have multiple types of air purifiers (HEPA, Novaerus Plasma Plate hospital grade purifiers, Molekule PECO purifiers, UV purifiers) to filter out airborne microbes.
We keep social distancing between patient groups by having “visitors” (parents and siblings who accompany a patient to their appointment) stay in the same room as the patient.
We have eliminated high touch items from the reception area to minimize the spread of germs.
As recommended by the American Dental Association, Appointments are slightly longer than they have been in the past to accomplish more at each visit so that patients can be seen less frequently.
As always, we sterilize all our instruments with either pressurized wet heat, dry heat, or chemicals.