Godley Station Dental Reopening Protocols from Godley Station Dental on Vimeo.
Updated May 5, 2020
Dear Loyal Patient,
The entire team at Godley Station Dental team hopes this letter finds you and your family in good health.
I wanted to reach out and let you know what our team has been doing during recent weeks in the face of COVID-19. As you know, we closed our office to routine procedures, but continued to treat dental emergencies in an effort to take strain off of the emergency rooms and devoted medical teams who are on the front lines.
In addition, we spent time giving back to our local community by bringing in food delivery, helping out local restaurants, and donating money to Meals for Medical to feed our front line healthcare workers. You can see much of this activity reflected on our practices Facebook and Instagram pages. Our team members also used the extra time to switch software systems and complete continuing education to better serve our patients.
We now anticipate a return to normal operation on May 4th, and I wanted to update you on our practice’s safety protocols.
Our ongoing commitment to safety
We have ALWAYS been committed to keeping you, our patients, and our team members healthy utilizing the latest technology, equipment, and infection control standards. Our first goal has been to make sure that we are following infection control guidelines and recommendations from the following science-backed organization:
- The American Dental Association (ADA)
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
We’ve been compliant with and diligent about infection control measures for as long as our practice has been open. You will have seen these protocols in place in our protective measures for staff and patients, and our strict attention to proper disinfecting of rooms and equipment and sterilization of all dental tools.
Our newly enhanced protocols
The safety of our team and our patients has been an even stronger point of laser focus for us over the last several weeks. We now seek to exceed all standards and recommendations, in order to make our office one of the safest nationwide. We are implementing the following upon reopening:
Patient and staff screenings
We only allow healthy patients and staff in our office. This means we now:
- Require all patients to complete a COVID-19 health screening prior to their appointment
- Monitor temperatures and symptoms of all patients and team members in the office
- Mandate that hands of patients and team members be sanitized before entering the building
Social distancing
Social distancing is a must if we are to continue to flatten the curve. Here’s how we are contributing to keeping all of our patients safe:
- All patients are encouraged to wait in their car. Your provider will indicate when they are ready to see you, and instruct you to enter the building at that time.
- We have re-configured our reception area to reflect appropriate social distancing for any patients who need to utilize this portion of our facility
- Our newly updated patient flow plan is designed to maintain social distancing guidelines in the clinical space
Staff safety measures
All of our team members have a vested interest in maintaining safety protocols and preventing the transmission of disease. We have now implemented:
- Installation of sneeze shields for our administrative team
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use that exceeds the guidelines of standard dental treatment
Air quality control
To cut down on the chances of viral transmission, we need to keep our office air clean. We have installed:
- Medical grade air filtration units in each operatory room, designed to filter air in excess of 4 times per hour at a level smaller than the .1micron diameter of a virus
- High Volume Suction devices for all hygiene rooms that are designed to reduce aerosol traces by 90%
Surface cleaning protocols
We’ve increased our already rigorous sanitization and disinfection protocols to include the following:
- UVC LED light units to keep all eyewear free of any viral traces
- Cleaning and disinfecting of common surfaces at least once per hour
- Complete disinfection of treatment rooms between patients, accompanied by signage attesting the room has been “sanitized” after cleaning
We have also obtained a new industrial steam washing unit for all lab coat and blanket processing. This ensures all cloth materials used by our team members and patients are fully sanitized.
Did you lose dental insurance?
We know that many in our patient family are struggling with finances and loss of insurance due to job insecurity or loss. Please see our special offers for the month of May, including an extra special price on our Dental Savings Plan enrollment for those patients without insurance.
Call our office at 912-748-8585 If you have any questions, or to schedule your appointment. We can’t wait to see your smile again!
Sincerely,
Dr. Matthew Allen, DDS
Owner, Godley Station Dental
