As per the Governor’s announcement on April 27, 2020, dental offices are permitted to open in May 2020 to provide dental services. We are excited to be able to get back to caring for the patients in our practices. Our tentative re-open date is May 11th. Safety is our number one focus. Our high standard of care ensures that your trust and safety is never compromised. The Ohio State Dental Board urges dental healthcare providers to exercise the utmost caution and to adhere strictly to infection control protocols and PPE guidelines. As we already practice daily precautions and infection control, in order for our practice to reopen we will be adopting what is now the new “normal.”
Please refer to changes that will be introduced to our practice in order to strictly abide by the Ohio State Dental Board, American Dental Association (ADA), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
GUIDELINES FOR PROVIDNG DENTAL CARE DURING THE CURRENT COVID-19 PANDEMIC
1. Prior to entering the office, we ask that all patients and guardians wear a face covering or mask, regardless of symptoms. We will be pre-screening every patient for COVID-19 risk factors using a comprehensive questionnaire until accurate testing is available. We will record body temperature for every patient when they arrive to their appointment. Patients must use a pre-procedure mouth rinse and wash their hands immediately before beginning a procedure.
2. We request that you sanitize your hands before entering the practice. All brushing and flossing is asked to be done prior to the patients arriving to their appointments. Our brushing stations will be used for hand-hygiene by patients receiving care that have passed the COVID-19 screening.
3. If you have a cough, fever, or respiratory issues, then we kindly ask that you reschedule your appointment. If a high temperature is recorded during your screening, then we will ask you to reschedule your appointment. There are no exceptions to this guideline.
4. We must reduce the number of in-person appointments by utilizing facetime appointments. We ask our patients who do not need to be seen for maintenance to kindly allow us to reschedule your appointment for a later date. Under certain circumstances, Invisalign patients will be allowed to have a non-contact pick up of aligners in the evenings.
5. With the new guidelines, we will be working at 1/3 of our capacity. We must stagger patient appointments to minimize patient-to-patient contact.
6. Social distancing must be in effect. We will be limited to one patient per dental care provider. We ask that only the patient come back to the treatment floor for their appointments. Parents and family members will be asked to wait in their cars, as this will now be the new “waiting room.” Our technicians will walk the patients out to the waiting family member in their vehicle to give them their appointment briefing. (Exceptions can be made with advance notice for patients with special needs. However, we ask that you follow this as close as possible, so we are able to continue to care for families and our doors are able to remain open.)
7. Appointment wait time will be increased as we ensure proper disinfection and screening protocols are being done in between appointments. Your understanding and patience is greatly appreciated.
8. Patients reporting or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will be advised to contact their primary care physician immediately and placed in quarantine as appropriate.
9. All dental personnel will have a “new wardrobe,” including masks, face shields, fluid-resistant gowns and hair coverings. Please explain this to your children, as it will not be the normal look they have become accustomed to.
YOUR APPOINTMENT WILL GO AS FOLLOWED:
1. Please wait in your car. We will have a screening technician waiting in the atrium to watch as cars arrive. She will give anyone who will be entering the building a screening questionnaire, as well as taking temperatures. Consider bringing you own pen to fill out the questionnaire to limit the use of sanitizing wipes. In the event you are not greeted by a technician within 10 minutes, please call the front desk to let them know you are here and the technician will get to you as fast as possible. Plan for longer wait times. When the chairside technician is ready for the patient, they will come out to your vehicle and review your questionnaire. If screening is approved, we will bring only the patient into the office. They will be asked to use a peroxide rinse before the appointment is started.
2. The technician and doctors will then perform the procedures. We will address questions and concerns with parents as well so please keep your phone close.
3. After the appointment is completed, the technician will walk the patient back out to the waiting car and brief the family regarding the appointment.
4. The front desk will immediately call via the number you provided on the questionnaire to schedule your next appointment.
Observing these guidelines will regulate the number of patients within the office/clinic area to protect our patients and staff. We must follow the guidelines above as they are set forth by the Ohio State Dental Board, ADA, and CDC. Without these guidelines, we will be forced to close. We appreciate all the support we have received during this hard time. We truly believe we have the best patients out there! Thank you again for understanding that we will be limited to the amount of patients we can see daily, working at 1/3 of our capacity. We will continue to require your support throughout these upcoming months. We are working hard to make you proud!
Stay well, hydrate, eat nutritiously, and get plenty of sleep.
Thank you again for choosing Beavercreek Orthodontics. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Dr. Gina Domm and the staff at Beavercreek Orthodontics
