Dear Valued Patients,
As many of you are already aware, the COVID-19 virus and the Governor’s Executive Order no. 2020-33 has forced our office to be closed to all but emergency procedures. This order will continue until May 28th, which means that we will not be open for routine procedures until Monday, June 1st.
The Michigan Dental Association and the American Dental Association are in agreement with this order and recommend that dental offices continue to avoid performing non-essential dental procedures until the order is lifted. Our office is in compliance with this order and these recommendations.
Our community has been through quite a lot these past few months and we are looking forward to a return to normalcy in the near future. While many things have changed over the past few months, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to serve our patients and continuing to provide a safe and healthy environment for those we care for.
Infection control has always been a top priority in our practice as you may have noted during your visits to our office. We follow the recommendations of the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As with all dental practices, we follow the recommendations of these agencies so that we continue to be updated on any new guidelines that may be issued.
This new virus, being airborne transmitted, presents new challenges to the safety of our patients, as well as our staff. In response to this we will be initiating some new office procedures aimed at limiting treatment to patients who are free of the virus in order to keep patients as far away from each other as possible, and to limit their contact with staff members. For example:
– We will communicate with you before your appointment to ask screening questions pertinent to the symptoms of the COVID virus. You may be asked these questions again when you arrive for your appointment.
– You will be asked to wear a mask when you enter the building, which you will wear until your procedure begins. Hand sanitizer will also be provided for you.
– Only the patient with the appointment should enter the building. Anyone accompanying the patient should remain in their vehicle. Exceptions, of course, include children with appointments and patients with caregivers.
– We will try to eliminate or limit your time in the waiting room, but if you do spend time there, you will notice that all magazines and other items have been removed due to the difficulty of disinfection. Chairs will also be spaced at least six feet apart from one another.
– In addition we are in the process of ordering and installing air-filtration systems to disinfect the air that our patients and staff breathe throughout the day. These systems use HEPA filters and UV light technology to capture and kill the potentially dangerous particles in the air.
Over the next few weeks there may be more more recommendations that we will try to implement before we open again on June 1st. Stay tuned! We are all eager to return to serving your dental needs and look forward to seeing you in the near future.
