Dear Patients and 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 routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety. Infection control has always been a top priority in our practice. Our office follows recommendations and guidelines 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). This allows us to make sure that our infection control procedures are up-to-date and enables us to provide the safest environment for our patients and their families.
During this time we have implemented additional safety precautions to help protect our patients and staff.
1. Upon scheduling an appointment, a COVID-19 questionnaire will be emailed to you. This questionnaire must be completed before your arrival to the office. We will postpone treatment for any patient that has experienced or been in contact with someone who has experienced the following symptoms within 14 days of the scheduled appointment date: fever, cough, loss of taste and/or smell, flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath and fatigue.
2. We will be scheduling appointments in a manner that promotes social distancing and allows for adequate time to disinfect all areas of use in between patient appointments. Upon arrival at our office, please call us to let us know you have arrived. We will call/ text you once the office is ready for your visit.
3. We ask that patients enter the office unaccompanied, if possible. For those patients that need a guardian to accompany them, we ask to limit it to a single family member. Every person entering the office is expected to be wearing a face covering and will be asked to sanitize their hands immediately upon entry. Please do not remove your face covering unless instructed to do so by a staff member. Every person who enters the office must have a completed COVID-19 questionnaire in our records. If we have not received it you will be asked to fill one out on our office iPad. We will confirm no fever with a contactless thermometer upon arrival.
4. Our office will call or text you prior to your appointment with more information about your visit.
5. Our waiting room will no longer offer brochures, magazines, coffee or tea and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
6. A clear plexiglass screen (sneeze guard) has been installed at the front desk to minimize exposure to air-borne pathogens.
7. Medical-grade HEPA Air Purifiers have been purchased and will be installed in the office to help improve the air quality within the office for all the patients, families and staff.
8. Dr. Nazar and staff will be wearing the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE). The following PPE will be worn by our staff at all times: KN95 masks during aerosol generating procedures, level 3 surgical masks, face shields, disposable gowns, gloves, hairnets and booties.
9. Patients will be asked to rinse with Peroxyl (1.5% peroxide solution) prior to appointment. We are temporary suspending in office brushing/flossing option to minimize the spread of the virus.
10. Some of the equipment is on back order and is expected to arrive in early to mid June. Until all aerosol minimizing equipment is installed we will not be scheduling patients for removal of braces or Invisalign attachments. We will be seeing patients for all other procedures.
We look forward to seeing you in our office and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep our community safe. As of now we intend to open our office at the end of May, unless our local/state governments advise otherwise. Once we know the exact opening date we will send you an email. To make an appointment, please contact our office.
Thank you for your patience – we will do our best to accommodate your scheduling needs as we know many of you are anxious to get back into our office to continue your treatment. Thank you for being part of our Harlem Dental Care family. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.