These have been difficult and challenging times for all of us. The effect of the COVID-19 virus has affected all of our lives and even though we have passed the critical stage, things still cannot yet be considered ‘normal’.
We also know that, for many, there is a lingering level of anxiety and fear about contracting the coronavirus (CV) and that you will still want to take all the necessary
precautions to protect yourself and your family.
We feel the same way about ourselves and staff and we want you to know that we are doing everything possible to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus at our office. Because we are a Mercury Safe Office we know how essential dental treatment is to overall health and we don’t want anything to get in the way of getting any necessary treatment. Thus, we have taken the following steps to protect our patients and staff. (Please note that in protecting you, we are protecting ourselves – and in protecting ourselves we will be protecting you.)
- We will not schedule a patient who exhibits any signs of CV, flu, or a cold.
- No staff member will come to work if they exhibit any of those symptoms or have a fever. • Upon entering the office you will be provided with a hand sanitizer and your temperature will be taken.
- To maximize protection do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth unless you have sanitized your hands.
- A staff member will then wipe down the outside and inside doorknobs of the door that the patient used to enter the office. • The number of people in the waiting room will be limited to a safe number.
- The dentist and all staff will wear protective masks during all dental procedures.
- The staff will sterilize all surfaces a patient, or staff comes in contact with.
- The dentist and staff members will sanitize their hands before seeing each patient.
Because our office is Mercury Safe, we also provide additional safety precautions that non-mercury safe offices do not. Our high-speed suction equipment and other vacuum systems provide a barrier between the patient and staff, capturing and filtering saliva, droplets, and particles resulting from the dental procedure. These protocols are not only used for patients having their amalgam fillings removed but for all patients receiving dental treatment.
In addition, our office is trained and equipped for the advanced use of ozone in dentistry. Ozone by its very nature is unstable and breaks down into oxygen in a few minutes to a few hours, so it must be made on site. Ozone kills viruses (including COVID-19), bacteria, fungi and parasites on contact. In fact it is estimated the ozone is 3500 times as deadly (to viruses and bacteria) as chlorine bleach. But when used properly, and at the correct concentration, it is harmless to humans. We utilize ozone in numerous different ways to keep the office sterile and disinfected. In particular,
we will ask that you
- Rinse with highly ozonated water before we begin a procedure, to kill viruses and bacteria.
- Breathe a mixture of oxygen and ozone bubbled through organic olive oil, again to kill viruses and bacteria. This is called “nasal insufflation” and should continue throughout the entire procedure.
The protocols and safety precautions we are taking will also maximize your protection against other harmful viruses and bacterial infections. These include hepatitis, HIV, the flu, measles, mumps, rubella, and colds. So please know that coming to our office is now safer than ever and you have no reason to put off dental treatment that is so important to your overall health and your immune system. If you have any questions please contact our office and we look forward to seeing you soon.