The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several changes to your daily life. Besides wearing face masks and washing your hands more often, you’ve also had to stay home. After being closed for weeks, businesses across the country are reopening, including your dentist. Although you’ll still benefit from the same exceptional care, things will be a bit different at your next routine dental cleaning and checkup. Here’s how your dentist is preparing for your arrival to ensure a germ-free visit.
Before Your Appointment
Your dental team prepares for your preventive appointment long before your arrival. A “Safety Champion” will be designated for the day to work with you throughout your time in the office. They’ll ask you a few brief questions about how your feeling to ensure you aren’t at risk of transmitting COVID-19.
The dental team will have properly sterilized any non-disposable equipment and disinfected commonly touched surfaces to neutralize harmful pathogens. They now have plenty of time to clean before your arrival because your dentist is seeing fewer patients each day.
Your dentist is also limiting the number of people in the office at a time, so you won’t need to worry about being in contact with other patients; however, this means you may need to leave small children at home.
At Your Appointment
Upon your arrival, you’ll wait in the parking lot and call into the office to let the front desk know you’ve arrived. They’ll ask you a few questions over the phone to ensure you’re feeling well. When it’s time for your visit, the office’s Safety Champion will escort you to the clinical area of the facility where they might perform a noncontact temperature check. You’ll also be asked to remove any outside gloves to prevent cross-contamination in the office.
While you’re used to seeing your dental team wear facial masks and gloves during your visit, you’ll probably notice they are taking extra precautions as well, like using face shields, protective barriers, and disposable clothing. The changes follow the latest standards by the CDC, ADA, and OSHA to combat the spread of COVID-19.
After Your Appointment
After you leave the office, your dental team will clean and disinfect to ensure the health of the next patient. If you start feeling ill within 14 days of your appointment, contact your dentist to alert anyone you’ve come into contact with that they might become ill as well.
Now that you can visit your dentist again, there’s no need to worry. You can rest assured your dental office will be the cleanest part of your day.
About Dr. Jamie Guthrie
Dr. Jamie Guthrie earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of Oklahoma School of Dentistry. She’s an award-winning dentist committed to excellence using the latest innovations in dentistry. Dr. Guthrie has recently revamped her dental safety protocols to help stop the spread of coronavirus. If you need a cleaning and checkup, or you have questions about our safety standards, please contact our office today to speak with a member of our team.