Important Information Regarding COVID-19
June 2020
To our patients:
We hope that this letter finds you and your family in good health. 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: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office in the past. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
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.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
- Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. We will also take your temperature.
- We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
Additionally, we have added the following systems and procedures:
- Extraoral suction system to remove aerosols
- HEPA filter for HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system
- UV-C (ultraviolet light C) light system to disinfect the air flowing through the HVAC system
- Increased the air exchange rate of the HVAC system
- Increased the fresh air intake/exhaust
- Increased disinfection of door handles, light switches, waiting room chairs and front desk counter
- Pretreatment hydrogen peroxide rinse
- Keyboard covers
- Plexiglas shield at the front desk
- Daily prescreening of office staff
- Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff
We look forward to seeing you again soon 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. To make an appointment please contact us via telephone during business hours or email us at [email protected].
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Dr. Hamilton Sporborg and Team
!Please view and share our latest COVID-19 Symptom Comparison Chart with your friends and family.
For further information, including measures to keep yourself healthy, visit the following links:- Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention.html
- Symptoms: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html
- Steps When Sick: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/steps-when-sick.html