Coronavirus Procedures

by | May 14, 2020 | Uncategorized

Our office has always followed the highest level of infection control protocols set by the U.S.Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In the wake of COVID-19, these agencies have set additional guidelines, and we have implemented new protocols to better protect ourselves and our patients.

Due to the increase positive COVID-19 numbers in South Carolina, we have implemented additional procedures to protect our staff and patients, effective June 24, 2020:

If you have any of the following symptoms your appointment will need to be rescheduled:

  • Fever

  • Shortness of breath

  • Dry Cough

  • Runny Nose

  • Sore Throat

If you have traveled domestically or internationally in the past 14 days your appointment will need to be rescheduled.

When you arrive for your appointment, please call or text our office, and a staff member will either meet you at the door or at your vehicle. Your temperature will be taken upon arrival, COVID-19 screening questions will be asked, and you will need to sign a COVID-19 consent before being seen.

We ask that you either wait in your car or the reception area –  this will be based on how many patients we have in the office. If you wait in the reception area a mask or face covering is required. If you would rather wait in your car, that is fine too.

Other Coronavirus Procedures implemented in April 2020

  1. We will heavily screen all patients over the phone and again when they present to their appointment. We will take temperatures on everyone upon arrival and ask patients to sign a COVID-19 waiver confirming that they are symptom-free. If you are not feeling well, have been in large groups of 10 or more in the past 7 days, we kindly ask that you reschedule your appointment.

  2. For the immediate future, we will not use our waiting room for patients or family members. We will utilize a “virtual waiting room” to minimize patient to patient contact. Patients will be asked to call our office when they arrive and remain in their vehicles. A member of our team will greet you and you will be asked to sign a COVID-19 consent form and your temperature will be taken. Once the room is ready, a team member will escort you straight to the treatment room.  We ask that you do not bring any additional friends or family members to your scheduled appointment. Exceptions will be made for children or those with special needs, and those that will be attending the appointment will also be required to go through the screening process.

  3. We have removed all magazines, communal refreshments, and the children’s play area from the reception area. Bottled water and prizes will still be available upon request.

  4. The number of patients in the office will be limited with extended time between appointments to support patient distancing and allowing extra time for air filtration and disinfection.

  5. All staff members will be screened daily with temperatures taken and asked to stay home if they are not feeling well.

  6. All staff members will wear additional PPE (personal protective equipment) to keep them safe and have all been trained on the latest practices and procedures for minimizing the transmission of the virus.

  7. An air-purifying unit has been added in every treatment room.

  8. Each hygiene room will have access to high volume suction to minimize aerosols if the dental hygienist deems it necessary to use during your cleaning appointment. Treatment rooms already utilize this.

  9. Patients will use a pre-treatment rinse prior to any aerosol-generating procedure. This has been shown to be effective at killing bacteria and viruses for a short time, so even if a patient does happen to be a silent carrier of the virus, this will significantly decrease the viral load in their mouth and the environment.

  10. We will continuously disinfect commonly touched surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, pens, anything that is touched from the front desk to the treatment room.

During this time things may seem different at Pineland Dental, just as they are in our regular lives, protective protocols will continue to evolve as the world learns more about the virus and how to keep everyone safe. Rest assured that we will stay up to date with all new developments, and will implement all recommended protocols designed to keep you and our team safe while at our office.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We will be a resource for you in any way we can. Again, we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time and we look forward to seeing you very soon!