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 we 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 for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable.
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 follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
- Before making an appointment, you will be asked a series of screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you arrive for your appointment.
- We will conduct a temperature screening with a touchless thermometer.
- We have hand sanitizer that you may use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
- You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. We ask that only the patient being treated come into the office whenever possible. Patient caregivers entering the building will also have to answer screening questions and have a temperature check.
- If you would like, instead of coming into the waiting room, you can call us from the parking lot to notify us of your arrival. We will return your call when the operatory is ready and you can walk right in.
- On our end, we have ultra-HEPA level air filters throughout the entire office to do as much as we can to keep the room air clean. Every staff member will be screened and temperature checked daily and logged. Your provider will be wearing enhanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so we may look a little different than your last visit.
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 practice. We are constantly monitoring guidance from the State of Vermont as well as local and national dental governing bodies as to when it is advisable for us to reopen. We are eager to get back to work and see our patients.
Thank you for being a part of our practice. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kropf and Team