We hope you and your family are healthy. Our re-opening process has begun, as the Santa Clara County Public Health Department has advised we can do so following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 guidelines. We have taken every measure to keep our patients, staff and the community safe. While we have always followed CDC and OSHA guidelines we have updated our infection control procedures and we will continue to meet or exceed each agencies’ recommendations.
You will notice some changes in the office. We want to update you on just a few of office protocols that have changed:
- Our office will contact you the day before your appointment to ask some COVID-19 screening questions. You will be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
- Everyone entering the office must be wearing a facemask.
- We will move to a “virtual” waiting room, we will ask you to wait in your car until you called or texted and asked to come in. At such time you will be greeted outside, your temperature will be taken with a touchless thermometer and you will be asked to sanitize your hands.
- If you require assistance getting to the office, someone can accompany to the door but they will be asked to wait in the car during your appointment.
- Anyone entering the office will go through the same COVID-19 screening process, inclusive of the questionnaire, temperature and hand sanitizing. The only exceptions will be made for 1 guardian to accompany a child under 18 years old, a patient requiring interpretation assistance, or someone handicapped requiring the assistance of a companion.
- All staff will be subject to same screening protocol. Additionally, all staff will be required to change into work attire upon entering and change out of this prior to leaving the office.
- A member of the clinical staff will then show you to the operatory, to which your dental procedure will be completed.
- We are doing our best to allow greater times in between appointments, to reduce your waiting times, but we ask that you be on time for your appointment. If you are more than 10 minutes late we will not be able to see you and your appointment will be rescheduled.
- Each room will be surface cleaned with a disinfecting chemical. The entire operatory will then be fogged with a non-toxic clinically tested solution for killing the virus (the same process the airlines and hospitals use). The operatory will be allowed to settle for a minimum of 5 minutes before set up begins.
- We have upgraded our HVAC unit filter to MERV-13, we are running air purifiers with HEPA filters with UVC lights to kill the virus and bacteria’s on the filters in multiple locations in the office, and aerosol reducing devices will be utilized on applicable procedures. Additionally, aerosol procedures will be minimized when possible.
- You will find protective barriers provided on the operatory chairs, which will be changed for every patient.
- You will also find that we have digitized most of our forms, you will be asked to read these and sign them electronically. These can be emailed to you following your appointment.
- The health history, new patient registration and COVID-19 screening forms can all be found on the website under Patient Info-> Forms-> Click on Patient Registration. The completed form will be submitted to us through an encrypted portal into our dental software program.
· You will notice the clinical staff are wearing some additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). All clinical staff is equipped with clean gowns, hair bouffants, shoe booties, N95 mask with a surgical mask over it, face shields and/or goggles.
· All common areas will be wiped down at least 3 times per day- the start of everyday, prior to lunch and at the end of every day. You may see a staff member performing this cleaning.
- The office will adhere to the 6 feet social distancing protocol, you will see signs posted and we will ask you to be cognizant of this in the front desk area and waiting room area.
- Appointment reminders will be provided electronically unless specified you require the paper reminder card.
- We will request you pay with a credit card and ask that you read us the card, in order minimize cross contamination with the machine and/or your credit card. The card can be saved in the encrypted credit card merchant vault for your convenience if you should so choose.
- The receipt can be emailed to you.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice.
Sincerely,
William L. Perry, DDS and staff