What We Are Doing to Keep Patients Safe During COVID
Following a two-month period where we were only seeing patients for dental emergencies, patients can now once again visit a Tanasbourne family dentist for non-emergency care. We reopened our doors on May 11, and are now accepting appointments and new patients. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: Your safety and health remains our top priority.
Infection control and prevention has always been a top priority at Barret Family Dental as you may have noticed during your previous visits to see your Tanasbourne family dentist. Our infection control processes are designed to make sure patients remain safe and comfortable when receiving care. To help to put your mind at ease about dental care during these tough times, we want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow at Barret to keep our patients and our staff safe.
Your Health & Safety Remains Our Top Priority
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 do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agency’s recommendations.
Some of the procedures we follow include the sterilization of all instruments after each patient visit. Our office utilizes a modern sterilization system which undergoes regular testing to ensure its properly functioning. Our team also wipes down all room surfaces after each appointment using a medical grade surface disinfectant. This protocol is one we have always followed and will continue to do so to keep you safe.
You may notice some changes during your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. They include:
- Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. Answering questions in advance will help to decrease the amount of time you need to spend in our office.
- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect. We have also removed most of the waiting room chairs to allow for proper distancing.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might necessitate being offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope that you understand.
- We may ask you to remain in your vehicle when you arrive and we will contact you on your cell phone when we are ready for you to come in. This is being done to limit the time you spend in our lobby and help maintain social distancing.
- We may not use an ultrasonic cleaning instrument during your cleaning appointment unless it is absolutely necessary. This helps to reduce the risk of aerosolized particles.
Our team has also partnered with a new nighttime cleaning service to ensure the office is always fully disinfected.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we’ve take to help keep you and our staff safe during these difficult times. To make an appointment, please call our office at office at 503-690-9667.
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.