Welcome to The Dental Loft’s website! My hope in starting this endeavor is that this blog will help instill confidence and clarity in our patients and followers regarding their oral health. I want to begin by describing how our office is doing our part relating to the Covid-19 crisis and breaking down how we plan on keeping your safety our primary priority when you enter the dental office.
It has been quite year for all of us. Back in March, all dental offices across the country, along with several other types of businesses, were shut down due to concerns of Covid-19. After almost eight weeks, the governor granted that offices in Iowa could re-open so long as they adhered to certain guidelines released by the Iowa Dental Board. These guidelines will continue to remain in effect until Governor Reynolds’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency is lifted.
In addition to the Iowa Dental Board’s newest guidelines, our office continues to strictly adhere to all infection control mandates set forth by the Iowa Dental Board, as well as those recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Some of the practices we have always done and will continue doing include sterilizing our instruments between each patient, disinfecting operatories after every appointment, using plastic barriers, using filtered water in our water lines, and flushing lines after each use.
Here is a list of things that have changed in our office during the current COVID-19 state:
- Any patients who have tested positive or have had an exposure to someone who is positive for Covid-19 in the last 14 days will be rescheduled to a later date
- All persons entering the building must wear a mask
- Upon entering, all patients will receive a temperature check and a Covid-19 screening
- We ask that patients do not bring extra visitors to their appointment
- All community items, such as books and toys, have been removed from the waiting room
- Hand sanitizer is available for patient use in the waiting room and front desk area
- Our staff will appear more “covered up” than usual. Our personal protective equipment includes special types of masks, eye protection, scrub caps, and long clinic coats. We change our PPE between each patient, but keep it intact during patient care from when we greet you in the waiting room until saying goodbye.
- Once seated in the patient chair, patients swish with a hydrogen peroxide pre-rinse twice for thirty seconds each
- Our waiting room and operatories run air purifiers with true HEPA filters
- A UV-C sterilizer is used in each operatory over our lunch hour and again at the end of the clinic day
- We are using a new type of suctioning device, called an Isolite, to help control aerosols
- There are now doors on each operatory entrance, so that masks can be removed and treatment can be completed in a closed environment
- All shared patient areas, such as the waiting room, front desk, door handles and bathroom are cleaned multiple times throughout the day
This has surely been a learning process for us, and it does add some time onto each appointment. However, we appreciate the grace we have received from our patients as we have implemented these changes. As time continues, we will remain diligent in staying up to date with the latest guidelines and recommendations as it relates to patient care. Our goal is to not only do our part in the community, but to also go above and beyond in offering a safe patient experience.
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Jena Hauswirth