COVID-19 Information
5/14/20
Our Valued Patients:
We are coming back! We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. In accordance with the Contra Costa County and California Department of Public Health regulations and guidance, we plan to open up for non-emergency dental care, next week. If you have had an appointment that was cancelled in the last couple of months we will be giving you a call to schedule soon. Priority will be given to patients with urgent and needed treatment that has been postponed.
While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made 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) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff.
For example:
Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office, and your body temperature will be taken by a non-touch thermometer. If you have any symptoms, we will reschedule your appointment at least 14 days out.
All employees will also be screened daily in this manner. Any employee that is experiencing symptoms will not be allowed to work until cleared by a medical professional.
We will ask you to bring a mask to your appointment and have hand sanitizer for you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
You may see that our waiting room is essentially closed and will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
Plexiglass guards have been installed at the front desk to provide protection.
Appointments will be managed and schedules modified to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment. We will set this up to make sure that this does not result in longer wait times and limits the number of people in the office at one time.
HEPA air filtration systems will be placed throughout the office to facilitate clean air replacement.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (925) 680-1111 or email us at concorddds@gmail.com.
Thank you for being our patient. We appreciate your patience and understanding and we value your trust and loyalty. We look forward to welcoming all our patients, neighbors and friends back to the office.
Sincerely,
Dr. Patel, Dr. Morrow and Team