COVID-19 REOPENING LETTER TO PATIENTS

We are reopening on Monday, June 1st , 2020! Our entire staff has been working hard to welcome you back to receive care that is both comfortable and safe. To ease any concerns you may have about returning, we want to be transparent about our sanitation standards. Our office has always adhered to up-to-date infection prevention protocols set by the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These standards include: regular hand washing, use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), proper respiratory and cough etiquette, use of sterile instruments and devices, and routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces throughout the operatories and office. Clear plexiglass barriers have been installed at the front desk to minimize exposure to airborne pathogens. Medical-grade HEPA air purifiers have been installed in the office to help improve the air quality in the area for all patients, and staff. Dr. Largoza and staff will be wearing all of the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE). These extra precautions are for the health and safety of all patients and staff. Therefore, a $10 PPE fee may apply to your services. We ask that you please be patient and understand that we will do our best to accommodate your scheduling needs as we know many of you are anxious to get back into our office. During this time, we have implemented additional safety precautions to help protect you. We have daily employee screening in which each staff member takes their temperature and completes a symptom screening. This information is documented daily. Upon scheduling an appointment, our office will communicate with patients beforehand a COVID-19 questionnaire for patient pre-screening. This must be completed prior to the appointment. Our schedule will be managed in a manner that promotes social distancing (no double booking, no overlapping appointments) and allows adequate time for us to disinfect all areas of use in between patient visits. If you have an existing appointment, please contact us to make those adjustments. As always, we ask for 48 hours’ notice for any scheduling changes. Because of the dedicated time we are reserving specifically for your care and the added measures we are taking to ensure social distancing regulations can be respected for everyone’s safety, we are now imposing a $40 broken appointment fee. Therefore, once you have a new appointment and are pre-screened, please note that you will be subject to this fee going forward. We are also administering a new check-in process. Upon arrival at our office, please call that you are here and wait downstairs until we notify you via text message that the office is ready for you to enter. We ask that patients enter the office unaccompanied. For those patients who need a guardian to accompany them, we ask that this be limited to a single family member. Every person entering the office is expected to wear a face covering. Per CDC guidelines, we will conduct a temperature check, ask you to complete your COVID-19 pre-appointment screening questions, and have you wash your hands and perform a 1.5% Hydrogen Peroxide rinse. If you have any questions about our sanitation processes and updated policies, please feel free to contact our office. Thank you for being part of our dental family. We’re happy to be open again and can’t wait to see you! IMPORTANT: If you are infected with COVID-19 or think you may have been infected, please contact us in advanceebefore coming in. This way we can instruct you on where to go and how to proceed for the safety of all. We are here for you, Dr. Nita H. Largoza & Staff