Helping Garrett County Stay Healthy
Your dental health support team at the Dental Health Group is pleased to see you and your smile return to our Accident and Oakland dental offices. We’re all working towards adapting to new normals and changes. So, we wanted to take a moment to reassure you that we’ve gone above and beyond to take every additional safety and health precaution seriously and are implementing the necessary steps and procedures for added security your whole family can rely on.
Whether you’re looking for a new dentist in Garrett County or are coming back to us to finish up what’s left on your treatment plan, please know that there are extra measures in place and, as always, we’re deeply committed to following the guidelines as suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and American Dental Association.
What to Know Before You Show
There are a few things you should know before your next visit to our dental offices in Accident or Oakland. Before your appointment, someone should contact you via text message, email, or phone to confirm. At this time, we’ll also remind you to please reschedule your appointment if you’re not feeling well. We ask that healthy patients arrive at the office in masks, at which point we will conduct a health screening for your COVID-19 risk. We have a questionnaire with a few questions you’ll need to answer. After that, we’ll take your temperature. Please note that we’re limiting the number of patients in the waiting room. You can remain in your car until we call you into the office.
Sterilization and Disinfection
In our Garrett County dental offices, we’re cold fogging with HOCI Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water (EOW), a medical-grade disinfectant. Cold Fogging with HOCL safely eliminates 99% of airborne virus in less than 2 minutes. We use this in every operatory following each patient’s appointment and in our common areas twice daily. This technology is used by hospitals, surgical centers, airlines, cruise ships, and hotels to eliminate any airborne and surface viruses within two minutes. Each room in the office is equipped with an individual air purification system with true HEPA filters and UV-C sanitizers.
Here are some additional measures to our current sterilization process:
- Patients will pre-rinse with a virus-neutralizing mouth rinse prior to all treatments.
- Our hygienists are now using the PureVac Handheld vacuum systems to minimize aerosols created by the ultrasonic handpieces during dental cleanings.
- We’ve added ADS Extraoral Suction mobile units positioned above the mouth during procedures using high-speed handpieces and ultrasonic scalers to remove high volumes of droplets and aerosols.
- Each dental chair is equipped with an independent water supply treated with the HOCl EOW, which further eliminates any virus plume created during a dental visit.
- We will continue to autoclave (heat/steam) sterilize all instruments after each procedure.
Personal Protective Equipment and More
When you see your favorite team member at the Dental Health Group, they might look a little bit different. Our clinical staff will be wearing surgical caps, masks, face shields, long sleeve jackets, and disposable surgical gowns. We’re spacing out all appointments appropriately to allow for additional safety protocol and disinfection procedures.
We are so grateful to have you and your family as part of our family. If you have any questions or concerns about your next appointment, please feel free to contact us so we can help. We look forward to safely seeing you and your family!