Pocono Dental's Response to Covid 19

Dear Pocono Dental Family,

We hope you and your families are all doing well.  Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines, with some new enhancements.  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 for you and our staff.  We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows all 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. There have been quite a few new ones issued in response to COVID-19.

You will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment.  We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff.  Please read the following recommendations carefully. They are from our governing bodies listed above and we must comply with them.  If you are not ready to do so, we can postpone your dental visit until such time that these restrictions have been lifted.

1.  Our office will need to communicate with you beforehand, usually the day before your appointment, to ask some screening questions. You will be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. The screening questions are listed below. 

2.  We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.

3.  You may see that our waiting room will no longer be utilized.  When you arrive, you can check in at the front desk or by phone while in your car.  You are to remain in your car until our dental team is ready to seat you in our operatories.  Our reception area will remain closed and we cannot offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

4.  Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. Please maintain government required social distancing of 6 feet as you approach and exit our building, as well as inside the building whenever possible. 

5. Please wear your mask at all times until treatment is ready to be rendered. This includes entering and exiting the building. 

6. When you are seated in the operatory, you will be screened again and your temperature will be taken on your forehead. Please keep in mind we may have to delay your treatment if the screening questions or temperature is not within the government recommended range. At this time, the recommended maximum temperature is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. 

7.  We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times. We are also working to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time during check in. 

8.  We are recommending only the person being treated be allowed in the treatment rooms. Only in extreme cases can we deviate from this rule. Please ask ahead of time if you need to deviate from this rule. 

9.  Our use of Nitrous oxide has been paused for the time being.  If you require the use of nitrous oxide for your treatment, we will have to postpone your treatment until regulations relax.

10.  We will be utilizing our in operatory checkout procedures.  We will take your payment and schedule additional appointments in the operatory if needed.

11. We have installed virus filtration and UV-C lights in our main HVAC systems. We have also utilized HEPA and UV air scrubbers inside every operatory. All of this leads to a slight increase in background noise. This however should be well tolerated during your appointment. 

12. Due to the increased amount of protective equipment our team must wear, the ambient temperature in the office is slightly cooler than normal. Please dress accordingly for approximately 67 degrees within the office. 

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.  To make an appointment, please call our office at 570-424-1201.

Thank you for being our patient.  We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors, and friends.

Sincerely,

Pocono Dental Associates