We hope this update finds you and your family in good health. This has been a time of great uncertainty for all of us and we have done our best to continue serving our patients during this pandemic. Many things have changed during the past few months, but our commitment to our patients and our employees is still our top priority.
Knowing the importance of oral health in relation to overall health, we have found it difficult to postpone many of your appointments. Making our patients wait to receive treatment is never ideal.
We are excited to announce that we have received guidance from the state, the VDA, and the ADA to start the reopening process. We will begin seeing all of our patients again on Monday, May 4th.
We understand that a very large number of our patients have had appointments cancelled over the past 6 weeks. In order to accommodate these patients, most of our locations will have expanded hours of 7am-7pm for hygiene and general dentistry appointments. Please see the location page of our website for a complete list of hours. If your appointment was originally scheduled during our emergencies-only closure, we will be reaching out to you directly to reschedule. We appreciate your patience as we work through the reappointing process.
Things may look a little different when you come in for your next appointment, but please know that we are taking all of these precautions with the safety of our staff and our patients at the top of our mind. Our staff is in the office today conducting a deep cleaning and being trained on our new procedures.
Our new procedures are listed below. Please take the time to read through them before coming into the office. Our top priority is safety, for both you and for our staff.
- Our staff has been equipped with the highest level of PPE available. The clinical staff has access to N95/KN95 respirators, face shields, gowns, and hair coverings. Our front desk and administrative staff will be wearing masks and eye protection at all times.
- All patients will be asked to present to their appointments alone, unless the patient is a minor or in need of a caregiver. Anyone entering the building is required to wear a face covering.
- Both patients and staff will have a screening with their temperature taken upon arrival to the building. Anyone who does not pass the screening questions or temperature check will not be allowed access to the building.
- Shared objects have been removed from waiting rooms and furniture will be rearranged to encourage social distancing. The waiting room and bathrooms will be disinfected after each use.
- Appointments will be scheduled to allow for extra time after each patient. This is to allow for extra disinfection time and to encourage social distancing between patients. We want to ensure that appointments are timely and no patient is in the waiting room for an extended period of time.
- We have High Volume Evacuation in all treatment rooms, and have changed some of our procedures and technology for a 90% reduction in aerosols.
- SD-90, a long-lasting antimicrobial treatment, has been applied to all surfaces in our offices.
- All of our locations have OSO-Pure water filtration systems installed in-line to our incoming water supply. This allows for multi-stage filtration as well as ultraviolet disinfection for 99.9% viable bacterial reduction.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time. We value your trust in us and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors, and friends.
Can’t wait to see your smiling face (even if it’s behind a mask)!
Virginia Family Dentistry