COVID-19 New Policies and Procedures
To Our Valued Patients,
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it is both safe and comfortable and because of that, our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
Even prior to this pandemic, dentist were experts in infection control. We understand that you are concerned about your health and safety-and we are too! In fact, the journal of the American Dental Association recently published a report in October 2020. It found that 99% of dentists were using enhanced infection control procedures such as screening protocols and enhanced disinfection practices when treating patients.
Because dentistry is considered an essential service, we at Eola Dental are here for you. Routine appointments allow us to check for a number of health conditions. Some conditions, like tooth decay can be more difficult, painful and expensive to treat if not caught early.
So, you may see some changes when it is time for your appointment, however there are some changes behind the scenes. One of these is monitoring our own health through daily screenings and temperature checks in order to help keep you safe and healthy. Other changes to help protect our patients and staff include:
- To maximize social distancing, we will be spacing out appointment times to prevent unnecessary patient interaction.
- We ask that you wear a face mask or face covering before entering the office. If you do not have a mask, we will bring one out to you.
- Please arrive as close to your appointment time as possible to help us limit the number of patients in our office at any given time.
- Please enter the office alone if possible, unless a parent/guardian will be accompanying a minor of for an individual who needs special assistance. Once the patient is taken back, we ask that you remain in your car and we will call you once the patient is ready.
- Prior to your appointment, if you receive electronic appointment reminders, you will be sent a pre-screening questionnaire link in the reminder text or email to complete prior to your appointment. If you are not feeling well, please call our office so that we can reschedule your appointment.
- You will notice several changes upon arrival as we are following the guidelines of the of the CDC, ADA OSHA and IDPH such as: Pre-screening questionnaire (if you have not just recently completed one), temperature assessment, fewer patients in the waiting area, air purifiers and additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our dental team for both your protection and ours.
- We ask that you use the hand sanitizer that we have provided at the front desk as soon as you arrive.
- You will find that our waiting area furniture has been rearranged. You will also notice other changes made to the front desk area to ensure the health and well-being of our patients and our team as they arrive and leave.
- WE LOVE OUR PATIENTS! We also love to chat with you at your appointment. Please understand that we will need to limit our casual conversations to allow for social distancing, running on time and the timely disinfection of treatment chairs and sterilization of instruments.
These are just a few of the new protocols we have adopted to help keep you and our dental team safe and comfortable.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your continued patronage.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Patel and Staff