COVID-19 Patient Visit

June 4, 2020

Dear Patient,

We hope all is well with you and your family during these challenging times.

We are now scheduling dental appointments, and we are taking extensive precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our patients. We are fully compliant with infection control procedures set by the B.C. College of Dental Surgeons.

We have also changed our appointment procedures and taken other precautionary measures to provide a safe dental treatment appointment, which we have explained below.

Before Your Appointment

  • Patients will be pre-screened for COVID-19 symptoms and possible contact with COVID-19 positive persons.
  • Intake screening form will be provided to review and must submitted at least 48 hours before all appointments. The online version of the intake screening form is available here.
  • If you begin to experience any symptoms such as a cough, fever, shortness of breath, or other flu like symptoms before any future appointment, please call our office directly.

Upon Your Arrival To Our Office

  • To maintain social distancing, please call or text when you arrive and wait in your vehicle or outside of the office until your scheduled appointment time. The office will call or text you back when your treatment room is ready and a staff member will then greet you at the entrance.
  • Patients will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and possible contact with COVID-19 positive persons upon entering the practice.
  • Temperature checks will be taken upon entering the practice.
  • Hand sanitizer will be provided for patients upon entering the clinic.
  • Only scheduled patients will be allowed into the office other than patients requiring care from one guardian or caregiver.
  • The number of patients at any given time in the practice will be limited and appointments will be staggered.
  • We ask that patients continue to practice social distancing measures in the office at all times.
  • There will be no physical contact with patients except for treatment.

In-Office Measures

  • You will find hand sanitizer at our entrance and throughout the office.
  • Magazines, children’s toys, and other items that are difficult to disinfect will be removed from the waiting area.
  • Common areas including restrooms will be cleaned and sanitized throughout the day.
  • We will be utilizing the use of a fogger to decontaminate the office, at least daily. This machine will spray a fine mist of hypochlorous acid, which is an effective disinfectant against the COVID-19 virus. This disinfectant is food safe, human and plant safe.
  • We will be utilizing air purifiers in our patient operatory areas. These air purifiers will filter and exchange the room air six times over the period of an hour.

Your Treatment and Care

  • All staff will be screened daily for COVID-19 symptoms and possible contact with COVID-19 positive persons.
  • Staff temperatures will be taken daily upon entering the practice.
  • Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided for all clinical and administrative staff including, surgical level 3 or N95 masks, face shields, gowns, gloves, and other protective equipment as required.
  • Treatment rooms will be completely sterilized before patients are seated - extra time will be scheduled in-between appointments to allow for the thorough cleaning and disinfection of treatment rooms and equipment.
  • During treatment, our team will strictly follow guidelines set by B.C. College of Dental Surgeons.

Checking Out After Your Appointment

  • A Plexiglass screen has been installed at the reception counter to protect patients and staff.
  • Credit card / payment processing will be done manually by the receptionist and receipts and insurance forms will be emailed to the patient. (you can choose to keep a credit card on file or read out card at time of check out.)

The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority, and our entire dental team is committed to ensuring your safety and comfort in receiving dental care from our office.

We are looking forward to reconnecting with our patients and providing for your dental needs.

If you have any questions or concerns related to your care after reviewing this information, please contact us directly.

Sincerely,
Dogwood Family Dentistry Team

 

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