Sections:
1. General Safety Protocols
2. Team Safety Guidelines
3. Pre-screening Via Phone, Text, or Email
4. Patient Protocols in Reception and Front Office
5. Patient Protocols in Treatment Rooms
6. Additional Information
1. General Safety Protocols
- Hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of most infections. Proper hand washing is the key. Wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with soap and water, then dry them.
- An alternative method is by the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizing solution.
- Hands should be washed upon arrival to the office, before and after each patient encounter, upon leaving and entering clinical areas and before leaving the office.
- Proper usage of PPE (personal protective equipment) such as masks, gloves, jackets/gowns and face shields as needed to protect team members and patients.
- Every person entering the office will be screened daily including but not limited to completing the screening questionnaire and having your temperature taken. If you are found to have a body temperature of 100.4°F or higher or refuse to have your temperature taken, you will be sent home.
- If patients are found to have any of the risk factors, a follow-up series of questions will be asked to determine if it is safe of the patient to be seen for their appointment.
- If a patient's screening is at all questionable, they will be sent home and be rescheduled for their appointment.
2. Team Guidelines
- Every team member will be screened daily. If you are found to have a body temperature of 100.4°F or higher or refuse to have your temperature taken, you will be sent home.
- If any direct family member displays signs of any type of respiratory infection and/or fever, you will be asked to stay at home.
- Team members are expected to keep counter tops clear of personal items and wiped down regularly with disinfectants.
- Team members are expected to have excellent personal hygiene which includes hair tied back, fingernails kept short and clean.
- If you choose to keep an additional pair of shoes at the office, it will be your responsibility to keep the street shoes away from others' personal property.
- Cell phones should be kept away from patient treatment areas, cleaned regularly and kept in a plastic bag. Cell phones are only to be accessed during lunch and at the end of the workday.
- Before leaving the office, team members must dispose of all PPE appropriately, disinfect and/or sanitize re-usable PPE, then wash hands thoroughly.
3. Patient Pre-screening Via Phone, Text, or Email
- Before your appointment, we will call, text and/or email you to confirm your appointment and review the Covid-19 screening questionnaire.
- Your answers will help us determine your risk of being infectious. If we find that the answers confirm that either you or a member of you household could be infected, we will assist you in rescheduling your appointment.
- Upon arrival to the office, the questionnaire will be repeated to be sure that nothing has changed since the first questionnaire was completed.
- If you are a high risk patient which includes, but is not limited to, over age 65, immuno-compromised, obese, presence of cardiovascular disease (controlled or not controlled), we will make every effort to schedule you at the first appointment time to maximize the social distancing factor.
- If you need to complete new information, insurance or medical history forms, they must be submitted electronically to the office before your arrival so they may be reviewed.
4. Patient Protocols in Reception and Front Office
- Please either text or call the office before leaving your vehicle to be sure that proper social distancing procedures may be respected.
- Patients will be required to present to the office unaccompanied and enter treatment room alone except where appropriate.
- You will be asked to either wash your hands with soap and water or to use hand sanitizer. You may also be asked to use a pre-treatment rinse as appropriate.
- You will be expected to be aware of social distancing procedures and follow them as you would when in public places.
- We will make every effort to stay on time with your appointment. However, please be aware that unexpected delays do occur in the dental office setting. We kindly ask that you remain patiently in your vehicle until the office environment is again safe in terms of traffic.
- When you arrive to our office, you will notice some slight changes in the reception area. We have eliminated magazines and brochures and reduced the number of chairs to ensure adequate space for social distancing.
- Please be responsible with the health and safety of others and advise us of any changes in your symptoms from the time you first took the questionnaire through the time you present to the office.
- Please use the restroom upon arrival before you enter the operatory to prevent the need for excess disinfection of surfaces as products are scarce and we must all conserve.
- We will take your temperature, review answers from questionnaire, then assist you in the hand washing instructions and will escort you to the treatment room to limit your time in the common areas.
- You will notice that common areas will be wiped repeatedly before and following each patient encounter.
5. Patient Protocols in Treatment Rooms
- As part of our new safety measures, we are adding air purifiers that contain the most sophisticated HEPA filtration system available as for the highest air quality possible.
- Patients will be escorted to treatment rooms once all disinfecting and cleaning protocols have been completed. Please note that you may be asked to wait while the next area is prepped.
- Devices will be used when possible during treatment to reduce the amount of aerosol produced. Your tooth/teeth may also be disinfected prior to being prepped with handpiece to reduce the amount of contaminated aerosol produced.
- Both high speed and low speed suction shall be used whenever possible to assist in the reduction of aerosols.
- Disposable materials are discarded immediately.
- Non-disposable equipment is disinfected then sterilized appropriately immediately following use or contamination.
- Patients should wash hands prior to leaving the treatment room and use hand sanitizer upon departing from the office.
6. Additional Information
- Our goal is to provide all our patients with the highest quality care using the latest technology with the most attentive and accommodating customer service while exceeding all safety and health protocols available to date.
- As information changes daily, we are committed to keeping up with all changes and making any appropriate modifications to our protocols.
- Our team strictly adheres to these health and safety practices and compliance to these and any future changes is mandatory.
The COPPELL SMILES team loves our patients.
Both your and our safety is of the utmost importance. Although we feel that our office is one of the safest environments, we are confident that upgrades in equipment, protocols and procedures shows our commitment to mitigating the risk of transmitting diseases to our patients, team and families.
Our hope is that you also do YOUR part!
We will continue to work with our referring offices to ensure your dental care is seamless, efficient and as comprehensive as possible and appropriate.
All attempts will be made to minimize non-essential visits by completing procedures same day when possible.
To ensure your visit runs on time and smooth, please complete all relevant data requests prior to arriving through our online forms.
We will continue to do everything possible and reasonable to ensure the most comfortable environment while upholding the strictest of safety precautions.