COVID-19 Office Update

Letter To Our Patients

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community and nation have been through a lot over the last few months, and we are all looking forward to resuming our everyday habits and routines.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice, as you may have seen during your visits to our office. 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 are in continued compliance with these agencies and regularly review any changes being made, especially due to COVID-19.

• Here are some of the changes you will encounter when it is time for your next appointment:
• We will communicate with you beforehand to ask some COVID screening questions.
• We would like you to wait in your car until 5 minutes before your appointed time.
• YOU MUST BE WEARING A FACEMASK OR FACE COVER TO ENTER THE OFFICE.
• Hand sanitizer will be inside the door for your use.
• Upon arrival, we will take your temperature, and COVID screening questions repeated.
• We have modified our schedule to minimize wait times and provide proper social distancing.
• You can rest assured that anyone in the office has already had their temperature taken and screened for COVID, including staff.

Our main priority is to protect our patients and staff from the transmission of COVID while we continue to care for your dental health. In addition to the policies and procedures listed above, we will utilize additional protective gear. The hygienist, assistants, and doctor will be wearing a KN95 mask covered by a surgical mask, an isolation gown, face shield, and hair bonnet. As you can imagine, the cost of this additional PPE has increased considerably. During this critical period, we will need to implement a temporary PPE fee of $8.00 per hygiene visit.

We have also made some facility changes to improve the air quality in the office. In April, the HVAC air filtration for the entire building received an upgrade, and in our office, we now have HEPA air filtration units in each room. We have also added external aerosol extraction units. The current high-volume suction you are accustomed to eliminates 95% of aerosols produced, adding the external extraction units will help capture the remaining aerosol.

While we will look quite different, we are the same supportive team under all that gear. The additional PPE is a temporary procedure and, therefore, will be a temporary addition to our fees. We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 949-857-1053.

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors, and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bounds and Team

Patient Safety Update