You know it’s important to visit the dentist every six months. But that doesn’t stop you from feeling apprehensive about your next appointment. COVID-19 has caused us to question and fear parts of our routine that used to be completely normal. Visits to the dentist included!
Fortunately, it’s still safe to get your dental cleaning right now. COVID has changed a lot, but it hasn’t changed your dentist’s ability to keep you safe and healthy.
Landmark Dental Arts has taken significant steps to keep their San Diego, CA patients safe from the threat of COVID during office visits. Here’s everything you need to know to trust that it’s safe to get your dental cleaning this winter.
Health Screenings
As recommended by the CDC, Landmark Dental Arts performs a screening on every patient scheduled for an in-office appointment. This screening process is simple but very powerful to help us all stay safe:
- Take temperature to confirm the absence of fever
- Ask if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 infection
- Document absence of symptoms consistent with COVID-19
Our careful screening process ensures that nobody with a known risk of carrying COVID-19 can enter our office environment.
Social Distancing
Unless you’re sitting in the dentist’s chair, masks and social distancing are always enforced at Landmark Dental Arts. These precautions stop any traces of the coronavirus from causing an infection.
We invite patients to wait outside or in their cars until their appointments begin, but we have also adjusted our waiting area to accommodate a social distancing environment as well. These changes include:
- Chairs set six feet apart
- No magazines and other frequently touched objects
- Maximum number of people permitted inside at the same time
- Staggered appointment times to minimize indoor traffic
Ultra-Fine Particle Filtration
The COVID-19 pandemic forced all public spaces to evaluate their air filtration methods, from hospitals and office buildings to grocery stores and dentists. We understand now that air filtration plays a major role in reducing the potential for airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors.
We follow the EPA’s recommendation for ultra-fine particle filtration. Our filtration technology captures dust particles, pollen, VOCs, mold, allergens, viruses, odors, aerosols, and many other pollutants commonly found inside. In other words, even if the COVID-19 virus begins to circulate in the air, our air filtration system is designed to suck it right out of the room.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) earned its place in the spotlight when the coronavirus pandemic emerged. Our dental professionals diligently use all required and recommended forms of PPE to keep themselves and patients as safe as possible:
- Goggles or face shields
- Gloves
- Face mask
- Gowns
- N9 respirators
Even with extreme PPE precautions, our staff members ensure strict adherence to hand hygiene before and after all patient contact. Thorough hand washing removes pathogens that might have been transferred to bare hands and prevents those pathogens from traveling any further.
When combined with other precautions, environmental infection control ensures that all patients and workers remain safe and healthy.
Comprehensive Daily Cleaning
As a dental office, we have always performed deep cleaning and sanitation of our office space. But in the face of COVID, we’ve created ways to be even more diligent in our daily cleaning habits.
These procedures include:
- Sterilization of patient-care items
- High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters
- Use of hospital-grade disinfectant
- Easy access to hand sanitizer
You can trust that Dr. Berry and his team at Landmark Dental Arts are taking every possible measure to ensure patient safety during this pandemic. As this situation continues, we promise to consistently monitor local, state, and federal regulations to adjust our procedures and standard of care accordingly. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep our patients and staff safe and healthy.