Local Dentist Adds Precautions To Ensure Your Safety
Dear Valued Patients
We are excited to announce our re-opening. Starting immediately, we are open to regular dental care; of course with added precautions. We have spent a lot of time updating our protocols to ensure we will be keeping everyone safe and healthy.
Over the next 2 weeks, we will be contacting those who had emergencies and postponed appointments. Those with emergencies and urgent care will be given priority. Please contact us if you fall into this category or have a new emergency and do not receive a phone call or email within the next 2 days.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over but we look forward to recovering to a ‘new’ normal. New protocols have been implemented, but the one thing that remains constant is the commitment to the health and safety of our patients and team.
Our new protocols exceed the guidelines recently released by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and Public Health. We believe our patients deserve to know what these new protocols involve and the rationale behind them. I ask you to take a few minutes to review the following:
Appointment Procedures
All patients will be asked a series or COVID-19 pre-screening questions at the time of making their appointment. We need
VERBAL
answers to these questions – which means that we can make appointments through email or text but they will be followed up with a PHONE CALL. The same pre-screening questions will be asked upon your arrival to the clinic along with your temperature taken with a non-contact infrared thermometer.
Please stay in your car and call us when you arrive for your appointment. We will contact you when your room is ready. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home unless you require emergency dental care.
Patients are required to wear their own mask/face covering from the entrance of the clinic to the dental chair and then again when their procedure is completed until you exit the clinic. Patients are required to use hand sanitizer as soon as they enter the clinic and again before they leave the clinic. We ask you to return to your car in a timely manner after your dental procedure so that we can observe physical distancing with the next scheduled patient
Patients are asked to come alone to their appointment unless accompaniment is required (i.e. a parent accompanying a young child receiving dental treatment or a patient who requires a translator or personal assistant).
All patients will be asked to rinse with a 1% Hydrogen Peroxide solution prior to their dental treatment and then spit back into the provided cup (NOT the sink).
If you develop COVID-19 symptoms within 14 days of visiting our office, please inform us immediately.
Team Health
All Dr. Mistry Dentistry team members will be screened before work and during the day to monitor their temperature and for the presence of any COVID-19 symptoms. All team members will change into their clinical attire at the office and change out of their clinical attire before leaving the office.
Operatory Disinfection &Air Purification
Our dental operatories have always been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each patient; of course, this will continue. After an aerosol-generating procedure, the room is evacuated and our Surgically Clean Air purifier is given 15 minutes to filter the aerosols to 99.9% (although only 7 minutes is needed). This is possible at Dr. Mistry Dentistry because we are equipped with HEPA air filtration units and a modern HVAC system which ensure that patients and staff can breath comfortably, safely and confidently.
Office Disinfection &Physical Distancing
We understand that some of our patients walk, bike, or take public transportation to the office – for those patients, our reception area will be usable. Reception area chairs have been separated by 2 meters to observe correct physical distancing measures. All toys, magazines, and books have been removed from the reception area. Unfortunately, our popular Espresso machine and sparkling water have also temporarily been removed from the reception area. Non-clinical areas of the office, including but not limited to door handles, plexiglass barriers, countertops, toilet handles, faucets will be disinfected frequently during the day with hospital-grade products. The point of sales terminal is cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant wipes after every use. A specific inventory of pens for signing consent forms and other documents will be cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant wipes before and after every use. Numerous signs have been posted throughout the office as reminders of correct hand hygiene procedures, physical distancing measures, and respiratory hygiene procedures.
As our world changes, we all need to be more aware; aware of physical distancing, aware of viral contamination but more than anything else, aware of our social responsibilities to each other of INCLUSION, ACCEPTANCE, AND LOVE
regardless of the color of our skin. I keep this book, written by my 4-year old son, on my desk as a reminder to myself. Sometimes the simplest messages guide us through the most troubling times.
We look forward to seeing you and connecting with you again,
