COVID-19 Updates

July 16, 2020

Dear Friends,

We hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits during these uncertain times.  We are writing to inform you that our office is still open regularly as well as to see emergencies promptly as many oral surgeons and endodontists have closed or are open only on a limited basis.  The decision to remain open was one that was reached only after intense deliberation, weighing all known factors about the Covid-19 virus, and getting the unanimous consent of our valued employees.  These are factors we ask you to consider when honoring your scheduled appointments or scheduling needed appointments:

• If you have been out of the country, in recent contact with an infected individual, or are showing any signs or symptoms of Covid-19 infection, we require you to reschedule your appointment.
• We do not allow seating in our lobby area and will instead check you in at your car and immediately take you back to a treatment room.  We ask any accompanying family to please wait in your car.
• When patients are checked in, we require a screening form to be filled out so that if we feel someone is at risk and needs to be rescheduled, we can do so before they enter the office.
• All surfaces in our treatment rooms are sprayed and then wiped with Cavicide, a medical grade disinfectant that the CDC has listed as one of its top approved disinfectants for killing Covid-19.
• Every member of our clinical team washes or disinfects their hands immediately upon exiting and entering a treatment room.
• Every member of our clinical team wears Level 3 protective masks in accordance with CDC guidelines and recommendations on infection control.
• Every member of our team wears disposable gowns that are disposed of after each patient.
• We have all patients wear disposable gowns as well.
• This week we installed a new sterilizer, the AdecLexa, which is a state-of-the-art autoclave that not only meets current CDC guidelines on infection control but exceeds them even in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.
• The CDC recommends spore testing of sterilizers once per week to verify proper sterilization of dental instruments.  We exceed this recommendation by spore testing our sterilizer each and every day.

We hope you can see our office is meeting, and often exceeding, CDC guidelines on infection control to provide you with a safe and secure environment while still delivering to you the comfortable and exceptional care you have come to expect from us.  If you do feel a need to reschedule your appointment, we request that you give us at least 48 hours’ notice.  If you should have a dental emergency, we will see you promptly.  As the situation is still very fluid, we will update you with any changes to the operation of our office.  We view our patients as family and we are happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

The Lasting Smiles dental team