COVID-19 Protocols

To our dear patients,

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health! We have started to see many of our patients and have become more accustomed to our “new normal.” We are so grateful to the patients that have come in and been very adaptable to the new protocols! 🙂 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. 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. In order to do our part in treating patients safely we have implemented the following additions to our normal infection control process:

• Sneeze/cough guards at the welcome desks
• Room dividers in our open bay are so that the dental chairs are partitioned from each other. In addition they are beyond 6 feet apart as well.
• Medical grade H-13 true HEPA filter air purifiers can be found in the reception area, the open bay area and the two individual treatment rooms
• To address the aerosols created when using a high speed handpiece we have contained those procedures for the individual treatment rooms and we have begun cold fogging the entire clinic daily with hypochlorous acid which is 100 times more efficient than chlorine at killing bacteria, viruses, and fungal human pathogens AND COMPLETELY SAFE, NON-TOXIC AND FDA and EPA -APPROVED.
• We are utilizing additional suction devices in the mouth when appropriate
• All clinical staff are in full PPE which can include surgical gowns, N95/KN95 masks, surgical masks, safety glasses, face shields, surgical caps, and booties. In addition we have stringent protocols on how we are to use them when treating you, our patients!

Our office will continue to follow 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 agencies’ recommendations.

Finally, as we have stated in our previous letter we have made some new protocols on how you will experience your child’s next visit. As a reminder they are as follows:

• Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You will be asked those same questions again the day of your child’s appointment.
• We ask that you call or text the office when you have parked your car for your appointment.
• When possible we will try to be contactless. Examples are, obtaining electronic signatures for consent forms or patient forms, requesting payments online, NFC (tap pay) or Apple Pay in our office.
• We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office.
• We request that anyone entering the office wear a mask for yourself and others.
• You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys, since those items are difficult to continually clean and disinfect throughout the day.
• We will no longer have the children brush before their appointments at the brushing station.
• Patients will have pre-made take home bags with an oral hygiene kit and a pre-selected prize in order to avoid contact with a communal prize area.
• 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 apologize ahead of time and thank you for your understanding.
• 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. We ask that if possible only one parent/guardian/authorized adult bring a patient to their appointment.

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. To make an appointment, please call our office at 425-800-0578 or visit our website at evergreenkidsdentist.com.

Thank you for being our patient! We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back all of our patients, neighbors, and friends. Remember a healthy mouth contributes to a healthy immune system! 🙂

In good health,

Dr. Susan and the Evergreen Pediatric Dentistry Team

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