Dear Dove Dental Family,
We hope you and your family are doing well. We have all seen better times than now. The last few months have been challenging for our communities. Nevertheless, as the current situation begins to improve, we have reopened our office and return to our regular practice.
Through this letter, we want to reach out to you and provide an update on the actions that we are taking to prevent cross-contamination and protect the health and well-being of our patients and our team members. Your safety has always been the top priority at our practice. Our office follows recommendations and strict guidelines made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Additionally, we continuously review and update our infection control procedures so that they are always up-to-date.
There will be some changes in the appointment scheduling process and patient experience after we reopen. These changes are made to ensure the safety of our patients and our team members. Our changes include:
- Before scheduling an appointment, our office will ask you some screening questions, such as whether you have experienced symptoms related to COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, etc.), or you have come into contact with someone who has these symptoms within 14 days of the scheduled appointment date. If you fall into the suspected patient category, we will review your request on a case-by-case basis to decide if we are able to schedule an appointment.
- You will need to answer these same questions again and take a health evaluation when you arrive at our office. If you are identified at check-in as a suspected case of COVID-19, we will have to postpone treatment or ask you to wait in our single patient room.
- We will schedule appointments in a way that minimizes patient contact in the reception area and the waiting room. This also allows us more time to disinfect our offices between appointments. Therefore, you may have fewer options for scheduling.
- We provide hand sanitizer at check-in that we will ask you to use when you first arrive. There are also hand soap in the bathroom for you to use if needed.
- We have removed all unnecessary touchable items that could lead to cross-contamination between patients in the waiting room, such as magazines and beverages.
- We highly recommend you to come to our office alone. If you require assistance from a friend or family member, please limit the number to one person.
- You need to wear a mask when entering our office.
- We will ask you to use mouthrinse of 1.5% hydrogen peroxide before treatments to reduce the salivary load of oral microbes and destroy viruses.
- We have installed an air purifying system. The system allows us to eliminate residual droplets and aerosols and sterilize viruses, germs, fluids, and dust created while providing treatment.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation to help us carry out these changes. Please call our office at (914)668-2772 or visit our website at www.kaceyannthompson.com to make an appointment.
We are privileged to have you as our patient and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Sincerely,
Dove Dental Associates
