Patient health and safety always has been our top priority at Advanced Endodontics, Oral and Facial Specialists. Because COVID-19 is highly contagious and easily transmitted through saliva, endodontics and COVID-19 pose some unique challenges. Some people might be afraid to be seen in a dental office, even in the middle of a painful endodontic emergency.
We assure you that Advanced Endodontics, Oral and Facial Specialists are doing everything we can to safely manage endodontic emergencies in the COVID-19 era. From the time you walk in the door until you leave, we take many steps to ensure your safety.
Patients may enter the office only if they are wearing a mask. At the check-in desk, we take your temperature and ask some COVID-19 screening questions. Then we send you to the bathroom to rinse with Listerine for one minute and wash your hands for 30 seconds, or the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday.
When you are called back to the treatment room, you’ll notice that anyone you come in contact with, including technicians and specialists, will be wearing their usual masks in addition to isolation gowns and hair bonnets. Depending on the procedure, we might wear even more personal protective equipment – for your safety and ours. Before any treatment, we will ask screening questions again.
After each patient is taken care of, we sterilize the chair, all touch points and equipment in the room before another patient is allowed in. Patients then leave the office through a different door, so they do not cross paths with other patients or touch recently sterilized areas.
Anyone who encounters patients will go through our special “breakdown” – or decontamination – room between each patient. There, we dispose of gloves and isolation gowns, put lab coats in dirty clothes hampers and re-equip with new, sterile PPE and wash our hands before seeing another patient.
If you pay with a credit card, we accept it in a sanitizing wipe, use it, sanitize it and return your card. We put all cash and checks in zip-up plastic bags for three days.
We know an endodontic emergency can be painful, and you should never have to suffer over fear of COVID-19 contamination. We take endodontics and COVID-19 seriously. Contact Advanced Endodontics, Oral and Facial Specialists today for more information.
