COVID-19 Safety Update: Changes to Your Next Visit
NOTE: Visit our new COVID-19 Safety Guide for up-to-date information on our safety and sanitization procedures and read about other changes you may experience during your next visit.
Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and our hearts go out to all who have been affected. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety and health. As we begin welcoming everyone back soon, we wanted to take the time to let you know about the work we have been doing to keep you safe.
Appointments & Scheduling Updates
First, we’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as our front office staff works to rebook hundreds of appointments that have been affected by this closure. Please accept our apologies if you have received automated appointment reminders or other messages during this time, and trust that we’re working to correct those issues as we rebook everyone in a timely manner. If you have an appointment scheduled beyond May 19, 2020 and our staff has not reached out to modify it, you should plan that it will occur as scheduled. To help with rebooking, we’re also expanding our hours of service throughout the summer by offering additional appointment availability on Friday afternoon and Saturdays. Our front office has resumed regular operating hours this week. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, or have a question about your upcoming visit please give us a call at (206) 325-0166 or contact us.
Our High Standards of Care & Safety
Infection control and sanitization have always been a top priority at Dental Care Seattle. Our infection control processes are designed 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), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA). We’re continuously monitoring all of these agencies for updated guidance and local rulings.
Changes to Your Next Visit
With updated guidance for containing the spread of COVID-19, you will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We’ve committed to going above and beyond the minimum recommendations by providing the highest level of infection control we have access to for the protection of our staff and patients. For example:
Our office will communicate with you before your appointment to ask some new screening questions that will help us understand if you are able to be seen at this time. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you arrive.
You will need to bring and wear a face mask or covering before and after treatment.
We will ask that you wash your hands and/or use provided hand sanitizer.
To minimize the number of people in our waiting room, we’ll ask that you please remain in your vehicle and/or only arrive at our office at your scheduled appointment time.
We are limiting guests in clinical areas. Only translators/interpreters, parents, guardians, and other necessary support people should accompany patients to appointments, and only if their presence is required for treatment.
We will take your temperature using a contactless laser thermometer or a temporal artery thermometer that is sanitized between each use.
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients, including using new staggered appointment times. 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.
For the time being, we're limiting items that difficult to clean and disinfect such as headphones, takeaway bags, brochures, and magazines in the waiting room. If you would like to use headphones during your visit, please bring your own.
You will see our staff using new forms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their safety, including face shields, special masks, and will interact with our front office staff through protective clear barriers at their desks.
A temporary $20 COVID-19 PPE & Safety Fee will be assessed per appointment until further notice. A national shortage of PPE combined with higher levels of safety precautions for medical professionals across the world has resulted in significant challenges acquiring these materials, and cost has increased dramatically due to limited supply.
In addition to these procedures, we’re providing new training for our staff and continuing to maintain our high cleaning and sanitization standards for our equipment and work spaces (including disinfection of dental chairs, clinical areas, and high-touch surfaces in the patient waiting room, restrooms, and front office). We’re also supporting the health of our staff with daily screening and temperature checks, and asking any staff members who do not pass the screening to stay home.
The CDC continues to advise that the best way to prevent the spread of this virus is through a series of everyday protective measures, social distancing, and wearing a face covering when in public. Read more about their guidance and how you can help stop the spread.
We’re Ready to Welcome You Back
We know this may seem like a lot of changes, but we want to provide you the most up-to-date information and transparency so you can make informed decisions about your health. We’re ready to welcome you back safely, and will continue to provide the top-quality dental care you trust from our office. We look forward to seeing you again and helping you keep a healthy smile!
If you have any questions about the steps we take to keep you—and every patient—safe in our practice, please call our office at (206) 325-0166. Thank you for supporting our local practice— we value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mike Mulick, Dr. Nick Radandt,
and The Team at Dental Care Seattle
To learn more about COVID-19 and other precautions you can take, please refer to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the World Health Organization.