Practice Updates
Regarding Coronavirus

UPDATED 05-07-20

 

Keeping You Safe In Our Dental Office

During the past weeks while under “stay at home orders,” our team has been reviewing all of the scientific papers and reports regarding the virus we have all come to know as COVID19. We’d like to share our findings and plan of action with you now.

We will be updating you with our reopening date as soon as possible. In the meantime, please read the following:

Transmission and infection dangers of COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) indicate that COVID-19 is easily transmittable and highly infectious. Transmission of the disease is thought to spread through respiratory droplets. Air droplets can be created during dental procedures.

Risk can be minimized, but not eliminated

Even with extra-ordinary precautions, there is always some risk that cannot be avoided. Patients must assume the risk of contracting the virus while being treated in any dental office, despite that practice’s best efforts to follow CDC and DOH guidance.

The dental industry’s approach to infection control

Fortunately, the dental profession as a whole follows stringent infection control procedures, including strict sterilization protocols and barrier techniques such as gloves and masks. Our office follows these protocols, complies with CDC and DOH guidelines, and is now adding new infection control processes.

What we’re doing now to protect you

We are working hard to get ready to reopen our office with all of the following safety measures in place. We know that dental care is essential to your oral health. We are taking a calm and deliberate approach and following government mandates and the advice of our professional associations and will be contacting you soon with our official reopening date.

New systems and policies:

When our office reopens, you’ll notice some changes to our standard operations. These are designed to keep all of our team members and patients safe. We are now or may soon be implementing:

• Expanded office hours to allow more time between patients
• Staggered appointment scheduling to limit patient numbers in the office
• Pre-visit health screening of all patients
• Special procedures for patients entering and leaving the office
• Pre-payment for procedures, to reduce time at the front desk and eliminate the need for our administrative team to handle and process credit cards. (We will no longer be accepting cash payments, in order to eliminate trips to the bank to make deposits)
• Teledentistry: Many appointments such as some consultations and post-op healing checks may be scheduled remotely to minimize unnecessary contact.

Our approach goes

WAY ABOVE and FAR BEYOND

all recommendations – because

WE CARE!

Updated disinfecting procedures:

You’ll notice that the majority of familiar signs and countertop items have been removed to allow for efficient and effective surface and countertop disinfection early in the morning, during the day, and at the end of the day. The coffee station has been replaced with a sanitization station.

Fortunately, the Covid-19 virus is easy to kill with an approved surface disinfectant. All of our counters and surfaces will be completely wiped off and disinfected before and after each patient and at the start and end of every day. Pictured here is a fine mist fogger that is used to spray and disinfect the treatment rooms and reception areas.

All door handles and frequent touch surfaces are being disinfected frequently and scrupulously. To keep you safe, we have removed our magazines (as difficult to disinfect), but please feel free to bring your own reading materials or listen to your favorite podcast on your mobile device. We do ask that you wipe your mobile device off with sanitizer before you go back to a treatment room.

New safety equipment

We have ordered the following safety equipment and it is being installed as it arrives. At your next visit to the office you will notice the following additions that we have put in place to keep you safe:

• Medify air purifiers. These air filters, present in every room, have HEPA 13 filters and remove 99.97% of all virus particles including COVID19. Additional features include a dust sensor, pre-filter, active carbon filter, and ionizer technology.
• Safety partitions The new partitions at our reception counter help provide protection for you and our administrative staff by enforcing social distancing.
• Personal Protective Equipment: Don’t be alarmed at our team members’ futuristic new uniform. The administrative staff are all wearing gloves and masks, while members of the clinical team are wearing face shields, shoe coverings, head coverings, masks, gloves, and gowns. These protective measures keep all of us safer while providing or receiving dental treatment.
• Aerosol reducers: We have ordered several brand-new devices to capture air droplets before they have a chance to spread through the air. These include:
• Leaf Intra-Oral Evacuation System: The Leaf will capture the majority of droplets before they have a chance to get into the air. It connects to our high-speed evacuation system and rests gently next to your cheek.
• A-Flexx Air Droplet and Aerosol Capture System, and Aegis Air Filtration System: The A-Flexx is a back-up safety system designed to capture any air droplets that may manage to escape the Leaf. The Aegis is a multi-filtration unit that removes tiny particles up to 0.3µm size), decreasing the potential spread of infections and diseases. Both the A-Flexx and Aegis systems can be used during procedures that are more likely to cause excessive air droplets and aerosols.

MORE DETAILED EXPLANATIONS WILL FOLLOW IN THE WEEKS AHEAD.

Let Us Hear from You:  If you have an urgent dental need, or if you have a concern you would like to discuss, please call us.

We will be updating you with our reopening date as soon as possible. Our team looks forward to seeing you again soon and helping you maintain optimal oral health.

Sincerely,

The entire team at the Silberg Center for Dental Science