Dear valued patients and friends,
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.
As many of you heard this week, Governor DeWine announced that dental offices could resume seeing patients again in May. In anticipation of our reopening our dental practice on Monday, May 4, 2020, we would like to emphasize how infection control will be (and always has been) a top priority for us. Many of you have already seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control policies 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 exceeds infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Center 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 agencies’ recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and team. For example:
- Body temperature will be recorded on all patients before entering our office. All team members will have their temperatures taken periodically throughout the day as well.
- 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.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. Patients will be notified via phone or text from our parking lot. Patients will wait in their car until their appointment time.
- We have outfitted our front desk with sneeze guards for your safety and the safety of our non-clinical team members.
- We have installed HEPA air filters in all of our treatment rooms as well as our reception area. These systems effectively filter airborne particles as small and smaller than coronavirus.
- Only patients will be allowed in our treatment rooms. If the patient is a child, only one parent wearing a mask is permitted in the treatment area.
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 office. To make an appointment, please call our office at 740-393-2161 or visit our website at www.brianhowedds.com.
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Brian H Howe, DDS