Safety Information

Continuing education and team training is important to our staff. We take pride in continuous learning for our dentists and team members to provide our patients with the latest techniques that dentistry has to offer.

• Research has shown that proper hand-washing is one of the best ways to prevent spread of infection. Our team is dedicated to proper hand-washing techniques before and after each patient encounter, as well as several times throughout the day.
• Our clinical team wears equipment that includes a mask, face shield, gown and gloves for protection. After each appointment, disposable garments and accessories are discarded in a dedicated garbage within the treatment room.
• We use touch-free digital thermometers to take the temperature of all patients and team members when they arrive to our office. Anyone with an elevated temperature will be asked to reschedule.
• All patients are provided with antiseptic mouthwash prior to starting treatment.
• A specific checklist of recommendations has been created for our team to follow. They arrive to work healthy, and go home to their families confident that they are safe.
• We encourage any staff member who is not feeling well to proactively stay at home for two weeks.
• Vulnerable individuals, such as seniors and those with underlying health conditions will be given specific appointment times to limit contact with others.
• Patients are screened on the phone for any symptoms of COVID-19 and instructed to reschedule their appointments if they are not feeling well. This screening is repeated as each patient enters the office.
• We limit the number of staff within the office at some times, and ask them to practice social distancing when necessary.

Aerosol production occurs with the use of our high-speed dental drill, as well as the ultrasonic scaler and polisher during routine dental cleanings. The following are precautions that our office takes to reduce and contain any aerosols that are produced:

• Dedicated treatment rooms that have closed doors to ensure no aerosols are able to leave and enter the hallway.
• We only allow our patient, dentist and dental assistants in the treatment room during the production of aerosols.
• A high-volume dental suction is always be used during the production of aerosols, this has been shown to dramatically reduce the dispersal.
• Every treatment room has its own dedicated hospital grade HEPA filter, which filters the air many-times-per-hour. We allow time between patients to ensure proper filtration of each treatment room. We are confident that when you enter our office, the air has been cleaned and is safe for you to breathe.

We use the most up-to-date sterilization practices, and track the adequacy of our sterilization techniques through biological spore testing and instrument quarantine. After each patient, a dedicated staff member disinfects all hard surfaces, chairs and equipment in each treatment room. Our dental office is the cleanest space that most of our patients enter in their daily lives.