We hope this update to our dental office finds you and your family healthy and well. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months and all of us are eagerly looking forward to resuming our normal lifestyles and routines as soon as possible. While many things have changed, one thing remained the same—our commitment to your safety and well-being.
We wanted to let you know that the County of San Diego and the Department of Health and Human Services has officially cleared us as of
May 11, 2020 to perform all levels of dental care including teeth cleanings and to resume our normal practice of dentistry. This should give you added peace of mind to restart your dental care and we just wanted to reassure you that our dental office, as an essential health care provider, has always maintained the highest standards of universal infection control and precautionary guidelines in all manners of disease prevention for over 34 years. Dr. Howard has always made this a priority for both your safety and concern in every level of care we provide you,
as well as for the members of his team.
Our dental office has always followed and exceeded 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 do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.
What We are Doing Within Our Dental Office to Help Minimize the Spread of the Coronavirus
As of September 21, 2020
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Maintaining a minimum of 6 feet of distance between patients and staff
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No physical contact between patients and staff except during treatment when needed
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All treatment staff are wearing personal protection barriers at all times: faceshields, masks, gloves, and jackets in all treatment areas
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All front dental office staff are wearing masks at all times and gloves when interacting with patients
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All staff members have their health assessed and their temperature screened at the start of every day
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The dental office has always had high-purification air filtration system machines utilizing UV light ionization and HEPA quality filters designed to filter and destroy airborne particles and viruses measuring 0.3 micrometers or greater in diameter
Continuous Disinfection Control throughout the Day:
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All patients offered the option to wait in their cars until their time of treatment upon arriving or wait in the reception room before treatment maintaining social distancing a minimum of 6 feet between others
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Wiping down all door handles within the dental office and patient reception room chair arms especially after each patient
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Wiping down phones daily with antibacterial wipes
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Wiping down all front office counters after patient contact
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No cross-contamination of the use of pens between patients and staff. Patients are given a new pen for any written needs if needed at any visit
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Any use of debit cards by the patient are to be handled solely by the patient and the card terminal wiped down after each use
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In the patient/staff bathroom between uses
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All patients will have their temperature taken with a no contact digital forehead thermal scanner prior to entering the treatment area as an initial assessment of their health and well-being
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All patients to use hand sanitizer before entering the treatment area
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All patients to wash their hands when entering the treatment areas and rinse their mouth for 30-60 sec. With an antiseptic mouth rinse before treatment is begun
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Using multiple disposable items with patient care & treatment
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We use additional extra-oral suctioning devices during all treatment procedures that capture aerosol spray before it can be dispersed into the treatment room environment
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After care mouth rinse for 30-60 sec. With an antiseptic mouth rinse
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Complete treatment room disinfection between every patient including all water and vacuum lines
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All instrument packs undergo a thorough disinfection & sterilization protocol and are not opened until the patient is ready for treatment
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Nightly cleaning of the dental office using disinfecting materials
