Making the office safe for you and for our staff has always been as important as offering you the best possible care. The COVID-19 pandemic raised the bar for all of us and we are pleased to say that we have been able to keep our office safe for both our patients and our staff. When you come to our office, you will notice that we continue to maintain the many changes that have been implemented to create and maintain a safe environment for all of us. These changes have been guided by the the literature, the American Dental Association, the CDC, the Washington Department of Health, the American Dental Hygienists Association and University of Washington.
All of our precautions and COVID-19 policies will apply equally to those who have been vaccinated , as well as those who have not been vaccinated. At this time - the fall of 2022 - we have all been vaccinated and boosted. This is also true for the vast majority of our patients. There is now a new booster available that targets Omicron variants. As soon as we see confirmation of safety with this new booster, we will recieve this booster as well. Our goal remains to prevent infection or spread of disease in our office.
Here is what you can continue to expect in our office:
· We ask each patient (and staff member) to infom us if they have cold, flu or COVID symptoms, including close contact with COVID positive individuals within the past 5 days. We have shifted to this method in lieu of our screening questionaire, because the questionaire had proven to be inadequate and unnecessarily frustrating for our patients. For staff, any symptoms or outside contact with COVID positive individuals is managed with immideate testing and daily testing for 5 days if negative. If a staff member contracts COVID, they must test negative before returning to the office (the more common rule of returning to work 5 days after symptoms resolve can miss 10-12% of people who may be contgeous even10 days after symptoms clear)
o When you arrive at the office, please wear a mask. This is still a requirement in the state of Washington.
o We will take a no-touch temperature and ask about any potential changes to your health, to make sure we have the most current information possible.
o Please come to your appointment alone, if possible, and try to be on time, but not early.
o We will have hand sanitizer available. Please use it as you enter and leave the office (including rest room use).
· We will be staggering appointment times to minimize the chance of multiple patients in the reception or check out areas.
· We have sneeze screens in the front office, as well as additional air filtration. Check-out will be no-touch and we ask that you stand behind the sneeze screen.
· We will be taking additional steps to protect you and us during treatment.
o We will be using pre-treatment rinses with all patients.
o We will be wearing N95 masks and additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as clinical situations, guidelines and personal care suggests is appropriate.
o We have installed an air purifier in each treatment room which will turn the air over five times an hour, filtering to .1 micron, ensuring that you are safe from the previous patient.
· After each patient is treated, the room will be thoroughly disinfected and will remain unoccupied to allow the air purifier to completely turn over the air before the next patient is seated. This is not mandated by any of the agencies, but it will significantly reduce any risks for you by ensuring that no aerosol remains in the air from a previous patient. We are particularly pleased we can provide this additional protection to you.
Because of the staggered scheduling and the gaps between patient visits to allow for full air purification, we will have fewer options for scheduling your appointment than in the past. We will do our best to meet your needs, but to ensure safety, we won’t be able to squeeze people in. We very much appreciate your cooperation and participation in these measures. If you have delayed treatment for something that was not an emergency but needs attention, please reach out to Dene so she can prioritize your scheduling.
Thank you for your patience. We are looking forward to seeing you in the near future!