As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, some may be wondering whether it is safe to go to the dentist, even with vaccinations becoming more widespread. At Stellar Dental Care, we understand the hesitancy people have experienced, since as a dental office health and wellness are of paramount importance to us.
We want to assure you, though, that the Stellar Dental team had been quick to adapt to the global pandemic as it emerged, which helped ensure that we could still supply premium care. It’s our goal to show that going to the dentist during the pandemic doesn’t have to be a stressful experience.
Despite the circumstances of COVID-19, Stellar Dental is committed to providing top-tier dental services without compromising on patient health and safety. With this in mind, we recently compiled some common questions, along with our approaches on how we have addressed and navigated COVID-19.
1. What Do Stellar Dental Care’s Cleaning and Sanitizing Services Look Like Now?
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice, and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), 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. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agency’s recommendations.
2. What Are Stellar Dental Care’s Offices Doing to Make Patients Feel at Ease When They Come In?
You may see some changes when you’re going to the dentist during the pandemic. We made these key changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
- Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
- We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys, and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
- We have extended our hygiene visits from 40 min to 60 min to provide time for additional sterilization of the room.
3. Are There Any New Services Being Offered in Response to the Pandemic?
If you’ve been asking yourself, “Is it safe to go to the dentist?” know that in recent months our practices have purchased the following:
- Additional high-aerosol instruments for clinical protection
- Dryshield kits for treatment (suction on the side of the mouth to draw aerosol)
- Purevac kits for hygiene (suction with a mirror tip to draw aerosol)
Additionally, we have scheduled installation of Air Oasis Bi-Polar 2400 Air Ionizer systems for each HVAC unit at each dental office location.
These units are ETL certified with a UL-867 rating and connect to the buildings’ heating/cooling systems. They are ozone-free air purifiers that have been lab tested to be 99% effective against H1N1, Legionella pneumophila, aeroallergens, mold, bacteria, viruses, smoke, and formaldehyde both in the air and on exposed surfaces.
Our HVAC systems will be set to run on continuous fan cycle which will create multiple air cleaning cycles per hour throughout our entire facility.
Don’t Be Nervous Going to the Dentist During the Pandemic – Contact Us with Any Questions
If you’ve asked “is it safe to go to the dentist?” and are hesitant about scheduling your next dental appointment, contact Stellar Dental today.
Our team is actively looking for additional ways to make your experience with us as safe and clean as possible. Patient health and well-being is extremely important to us, which is why we have made adapting to COVID-19 a top priority.
Reach out to us today to learn more about how we are taking action, and to schedule an appointment!