Why are they taking my temperature at the dentist’s office? Why can’t I bring my gloves inside? Why do I have to wear a mask? You don’t feel sick, so why do you have to take so many extra precautions? It may seem silly, but these steps play a big role in keeping you and our community safe during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Keep reading to learn a little more about the steps our dentists are taking to protect your health and safety as we welcome patients back into the dental office to see us.
Our Extra Steps to Keep You Safe
Some of the precautionary steps we’re taking to ensure your safety during dental appointments include the following:
- Alternative waiting room – instead of waiting inside the dental office, we ask that patients stay in their vehicles and call our front desk to go through the check in process over the phone.
- Screening – after you’re checked in you’ll be asked to put on a mask, and a dental assistant will come out to your car to ask COVID-19 screening questions and take your temperature using a contact-less forehead thermometer.
- Fewer patients in office – to ensure social distancing recommendations can be met, we are scheduling fewer patients in our office at one time. Scheduling fewer visits also allows for us to thoroughly sanitize treatment areas between visits.
- Caregiver personal protection equipment (PPE) – those team members who interact with you directly will be wearing several layers of higher strength PPE, including masks (level 3 and up), gowns changed after every patient, and face shields.
- Patient personal protection equipment – we ask that all patients wear masks until their treatment begins. Then, you’ll be given a mouth rinse that is formulated to eliminate viruses. We ask that you do not wear gloves or bring them into the office. Gloves do not prevent the spread of COVID-19 as you can transfer the virus from a gloved hand to your face or other surfaces. To minimize risk of contamination, we ask that you use hand sanitizer upon entering our office.
- Reduced aerosol during treatment – we always use state-of-the-art intra-oral suction devices during treatment, and we’ll continue to use this system to capture aerosols as we provide dental care.
- Room air purifiers – We have installed Medify Medical Grade H13 Filters in all treatment rooms and the waiting room. Medify H13 units are the most powerful air purifiers on the market and have dual air intakes. They are higher rated than True HEPA with 99.97% particle removal.
Why These Precautions are Important
We know that all of these extra precautions may seem a bit excessive, especially if you feel fine and haven’t been exposed to COVID-19. However, our dedication is to protect your health and safety, that of our team members, and the entire Millersville community. For this reason, we are committed to taking every precaution to minimize potential risks. Even if you feel fine, many of the early signs of COVID-19 are very mild, and some people don’t even have associated symptoms. For this reason, we are using the same safety precautions for every patient.
Welcome Back to the McCarl Dental Group!
We are so happy to be back in our Millersville dental office and seeing our patients’ smiles again! We know that things are going to be a little strange at first, but we also know that having the opportunity to care for our community’s oral health again is well worth the extra safety precautions. If you’re ready to come see us for a dental checkup, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We look forward to hearing from you soon.