Control and Prevention
In preparation for your next visit, we are taking the following precautions:
- All patients will be seen by appointment only. Walk-in patients will be given an appointment for a future time or date to ensure we see only one patient in the office at a time. We encourage you to call to make an appointment instead of showing up at the office.
- All patients will be screened, including temperature, before entering the office. Patients who do not pass the screening will be advised to visit their doctor and reappointed.
- All patients will be given a full set of protective gear (PPE) which they must wear during their entire visit.
- We will only allow parents of minor children into the treatment area if it is necessary or Dr. Shah needs to speak to them.
- All staff and patients will be required to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines outside of actual treatment time.
- We encourage all patients to fill out forms, sign paperwork, or make payments in advance of their office visit to ensure a contactless appointment.
- We will not have anyone in the waiting room unless it’s deemed that you may be needed in the treatment area during the appointment.
- We have added Medical Grade Air Purifiers to the treatment areas and throughout the office to ensure a safer environment. Additionally, Hands-Free Hand Dryers and Hand Sanitizer dispensers have been installed for your convenience.
- Other enhancements we are in the process of making include:
- Extra-oral suction to filter out aerosols created during drilling
- Fumigating all rooms with Hypochlorous acid after wiping them down to ensure an even safer environment for subsequent patients.
Patient Protocol in COVID-19 Pandemic
Due to the pandemic, we have changed our appointment flow for patients. Our staff will guide you through these protocols during your office visit but you can read the process below to get an idea how your appointment will go. We may scale this protocol up or down in the future based on advisory from local and state authorities.
Patient Arrival
1) Patient should contact the office when they arrive in the parking lot.
2) A staff member will come to the patient’s car to perform the pre-appointment screening which includes checking temperature with a contactless thermometer and a COVID-19 screening form.
3) If the patient does not clear the screening, they will be advised to visit their doctor and will be given an appointment at least 2 weeks into the future. Even if the patient is confident that they are virus free, we cannot make exceptions to the rule.
4) If the patient clears the screening, they will be given protective gear to wear for the duration of their appointment. This includes a cap, gown, mask, gloves and shoe covers. Please be advised, we will not allow patients to wear their own masks that may have been contaminated.
5) No one may accompany the patient inside the office unless: it’s a young child, translation is needed, disability necessitates their assistance. An additional PPE fee may apply.
Entering the Office
6) Patient will wear all protective gear before entering and will be guided into the office and will be required to wash their hands first.
7) The patient will then immediately wear the provided gloves because of COVID-19 pandemic.
Checking In
8) We will try to finish all check in processes including: registration forms, consent forms and payments prior to the appointment. In some cases, this may not be possible and the patient will complete check in process at this time.
Pre-Treatment
9) The patient will be required to do a couple of 1-minute pre-appointment rinses to decrease viral load prior to treatment. For surgical appointments, you will be required to complete 3 1-minute rinses.
10) The patient will be seated and draped.
Treatment
11) Patient will wear their mask till treatment begins.
12) Treatment will be completed. Additional safety measures such as extra-oral suctions and intra-oral devices may be used to reduce aerosols.
Check Out and Exit
13) The patient will be given their next appointment in the treatment room.
14) The patient will be guided out of the office and will drop their reusable protective gear into the designated basket near the exit.
15) The patient may keep/dispose of any disposable protective gear when they reach their car.
Please be advised, as we transition into our full services, we may restrict certain procedures until we have the proper equipment to ensure safety.
We appreciate your understanding and ask that you follow all procedures and rules that we set to ensure your safety and the safety of our staff. We look forward to seeing you soon.
