Park Place Dental is taking steps to protect both our patients and staff from the COVID-19 outbreak in our community. As dental professionals, we have always confronted the realities of infectious diseases and Park Place Dental has already implemented the recommended guidelines to help keep the public and profession safe. We are doing our part to help slow disease transmission and reduce the number of people who get sick.
Our preparedness plan includes protecting our staff and non-COVID-19 patients seeking dental care from infection. It is important for us to continue to provide the appropriate level of dental care for our patients in a safe manner. We are keeping up to date on the recommendations for preventing the spread of COVID-19 on the CDC’s website. We are also checking with the ADA, the American Dental Association, and the NC State Dental Board for their recommendations.
We will provide updates about changes to our policies regarding appointments via email and postings on our social media and webpages.
Our patient policies will be as follows until further notice:
- We are screening patients before their appointment. We are rescheduling patients if they are in the at-risk populations, or if they or anyone in their home has any upper respiratory symptoms. We are also rescheduling patients if they or anyone in their home has a recent history of international travel or travel to areas with community spread of COVID-19.
- We are eliminating patient penalties for appointment cancellations during this time of COVID-19 pandemic. We ask that you call to reschedule your appointment if any of the above apply to you or if you would like to postpone your appointment until this uncertain time has passed.
- Patients should arrive on-time for their appointments, rather than early, to minimize the amount of time spent in the reception area. Patients will also be given the option to wait in their personal vehicles as we prepare for their appointment.
- We will include temperature readings as part of our routine assessment prior to performing dental procedures. Temperatures must read below 100.3 to be considered non-feverish. We will also ask that patients wash their hands upon arrival.
- We will have all patients rinse with 1% hydrogen peroxide once in the clinic chair before dental procedures begin. Corona virus is vulnerable to oxidation; this will reduce the salivary load of oral microbes.
In addition to the above policy changes and standard precaution procedures, we will also be disinfecting common areas such as reception and bathrooms, as well as light switches, doorknobs, etc. on an hourly schedule.
Thank you for your support of our practice over the years and for your cooperation during this time of COVID-19. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we will do our part in protecting our community. We will get through this together. Please stay well.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mary Gaddis