Office Opening Update/ Covid-19 Protocols

We hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and well.  As many of you already know our office has been seeing patients on a limited basis for emergency treatment in line with the Governor’s Proclamation 20-24.  We are delighted to inform you that we will begin seeing patients for routine care starting Tuesday, May 19^th, 2020.  As we emerge from this difficult time, we want you to know that our staff is working diligently to reschedule your appointments that were impacted by our closure and answer your questions.  We ask for your patience as we do this.  If you have yet to reschedule your appointment please email, call or contact us through our website.

As always, we are committed to providing the best dental care and safety to our patients by practicing and providing the universal health care precautions necessary for our patients, staff and facility.  Our office follows infection control recommendations 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).  We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up to date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.  We have also been actively studying, reading and participating in webinars with evidence-based guidelines for restarting our practice during this health crisis.

We wanted to inform you of changes you may experience at your next visit to our office. Some of these changes will become the new standard of care, while others may be relaxed or adjusted over time:

• Please bring your own mask and wear it to your appointment.  Since personal protective equipment supplies are dangerously low you will help us conserve by bringing your own mask.  Team members will also be wearing masks.
• We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office.  You will also find wash stations in the operatory that we will ask you to use before and after your appointments.
• Patients will continue to be screened over the phone before their appointment and again in person. We are using a simple questionnaire that will assess your exposure, travel, and COVID-19 related symptoms. If an individual’s answer indicates recent exposure to someone with COVID-19 or having signs and symptoms they will be asked to leave, and not return for the specified 14-day self-quarantine requirement.
• Staff and patients will have their temperature taken upon arrival using a touchless thermometer. If a temperature is over 100 degrees F, the individual will be asked to leave and not return for the specified 14-day self-quarantine requirement.
• The number of appointments per day may be limited to a level that will accommodate safe social distancing within the office.  To help with this we ask that our patients maintain the 6-foot social distancing guidelines when in the office until seated in the treatment chair.  We are also asking that caregivers and other family members not enter the office during the patient’s treatment in order to minimize crowding.
• Magazines have been removed from the reception area since they are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• We will no longer have a tooth-brushing station.  Our sink areas will only be used as hand washing stations.

We are so very grateful for each and every one of our patients.  Please know that we take your safety very seriously and are doing everything possible to provide you with a clean and safe environment for your dental care. In addition to the stringent disinfecting guidelines that we follow in order to keep our workplace ultra-clean, we are taking advantage of our medical grade ozone generators and UV Medi-air Filtration systems to daily eliminate bacteria and viruses from the office.  We will continue to do everything we can to make the visits to our clinic as safe and comfortable as possible.

We look forward to seeing and serving you in the very near future!

Warm Regards,

Richard Stickney, D.D.S. and Team