Dear Pass Pediatric Dental Families,
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Per the California Department of Public Health we will prioritize care that was previously postponed and for those conditions that are likely to lead to dental emergencies if treatment is not provided in a timely manner. Our hope is that in June we will be able to resume regular preventative care, which includes routine exams, cleanings, Fluoride treatments, and sealants.
We want you to know that 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. In addition to our normal high standard of sterilization and disinfecting after each patient’s appointment, we will also be frequently wiping down all the common area surfaces throughout the day. Furthermore, we will be placing four air purifiers throughout the office to help keep the air in the office safe and clean.
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.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these 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 will also be taking you and your child’s temperature upon entering the office.
- We ask that you and your child wear a mask or cloth face covering to all of their appointments. Unfortunately if you do not have a face mask we will have to reschedule the appointment.
- 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 know how much our patients love getting toys at the end of their visits, but to minimize contamination we will be handing patients their toys in a baggy at the conclusion of their appointment.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- 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. In order to do this we ask that you notify us from the car when you arrive at the office and that you continue to wait in your car until we contact you to come into the office to go directly back for your child’s appointment.
- While we love seeing your entire family, we ask that only one parent accompanies the patient and that no additional children come that do not have appointments. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes at this time, this rule is simply for the health and safety of all of our patients.
- In order to protect our staff and all of our patients you will notice that we are wearing extra Personal Protective Equipment. This may look strange to your child since it is not what they are used to, therefore it may be a good idea to try to prepare your child prior to their appointment that we may look a little silly, but that we are doing it to keep them safe and healthy.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (951) 849-6655.
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Blessings,
From all of us at The Pass Pediatric dental group!