As I’m sure you are all aware, Governor Tom Wolf has ordered mass closings in Montgomery County that will last 14 days. Dental offices will stay open to serve the needs of our patients. As always, the health and well-being of our patients is our primary focus. I want to take this opportunity to let you know what we are doing to protect our patients.
First, I want to assure you that the clinical treatment areas are being handled with exactly the same sterilization techniques that have always been in place. All instruments are steam autoclaved and the autoclaves are tested each week. All surfaces in the dental treatment rooms are disinfected according to CDC guidelines. Areas in the treatment rooms that are touched during dental procedures are additionally wrapped with barrier protection that is discarded and renewed between patients.
We have instituted additional measures in all non-treatment areas. 1) We have removed all magazines and brochures from the waiting room. 2) We have reduced seating capacity in the waiting area to space chairs six feet apart and patients are being brought to the treatment rooms upon arrival when possible. 3) All waiting area surfaces (including chair arm rests) are disinfected every 30-60 minutes.
We will not allow any employee or patient to present to the office with any signs of illness. We are specifically concerned with fever, cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath. Anyone who has traveled out of the country or who has been around anyone who has been ill will not be appointed until after a 14 day waiting . All of our staff are monitored daily with a temporal thermometer and we’re requesting the same from all our patients as they enter the office.
Please feel free to call the office with any questions or concerns.
Important Information Links:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/medicalinformation.html
https://www.phila.gov/programs/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/