Great news everyone, Keystone Dental Center will finally be opening back up on Tuesday May 12th. We are so excited to see you and to hear how you have been spending your time during this pandemic. Thank you for your patience as we have and will continue to change appointments to fit our new model.
As you might have imagined, there are many things that are going to be different moving forward, but the thing we want to make sure we keep, is our ability to provide you a great experience and quality dental care. We need to do this in a manner that will keep you healthy and safe.
First off, we want to wish Melanie, one of our hygienist, all the best. She has decided to stay home full time with her cute toddler Adelyn. We are sure going to miss her but family always comes first. We are actively searching for a replacement hygienist and will be able to increase the number of people we see for hygiene once that happens. In the interim, Dana will be taking great care of as many patients as she can!
Some of the things that you are going to see and feel, is that we are not going to be able to have as many appointments as we have had in the past. Please make sure you come to your appointment so that we don’t waste any time and can see as many patients as we can while staying within our new guidelines. These are some of the other things you are going to see:
· New changes are done to keep you safe and healthy and are done through guidance given by the CDC, OSHA, ADA and the State of Colorado. These will most likely change at some point in the future and we will make those adjustments as well.
· Two days before your appointment you should receive an email and/or a text message that will give you a link to fill out a COVID questionnaire. Please fill out and respond as soon as you receive this. It will help us to make sure we can see you.
· Your appointment email will also include information about many changes as to how your appointment will run. Here is a quick run down:
o Our doors will actually stay locked, there will be no walk-ins and no admittance without an appointment.
o You will stay in your vehicle until your room is ready for you. Call us when you arrive. Come unaccompanied (unless you require an adult or caretaker).
o Wear your favorite mask while you are in the office.
o You will use a special rinse before we start (you can purchase for home use as well).
o We will schedule any additional treatment in your room before you leave.
o Please plan to pay your portion along with any outstanding balance before you leave.
o Once finished we will escort you out. We hope you have a great personalized experience.
· Hygiene appointments will be different because at this time we are not allowed to use our ultrasonic instruments. We will be using hand instruments only and will do our very best. Future hygiene appointments will be based upon todays guidelines but will likely change in the future so don’t be surprised if we call later to change things to be more efficient dependent on current guidelines.
· If Dr. Lamb will be using his handpiece to prepare a tooth, in order to minimize potential aerosols, we will be using either:
o IsoDry - Isolates the area we are working on and continuously suctions.
o Rubber Dam – Sheets of material stretched over the area being worked on.
· As you might have expected, the attire (PPE) of the staff is going to be very different due to guidelines from the regulatory bodies previously mentioned. These changes are very important to keep you and our office as safe and healthy as possible. They will include:
o Head bonnets
o Face Shields or goggles
o Masks – Level III surgical or N95
o Cotton coats that will be changed after each patient. We have decided to use washable coats/gowns to eliminate a big producer of garbage (disposable gowns).
o Shoe covers or shoes that stay in the office and are cleaned frequently.
· There are other things that you may or may not notice that are all working to keep you safe. One of those are the HEPA filters that you will see in each treatment room.
· Due to the increased usage of PPE, a fee of $20 will be added to each patient at each visit. This is necessary in the continuation of being committed to taking the absolute best care of our patients. Furthermore, making sure all our patients are safe during this particular pandemic requires us to do even more to continue to provide a stellar atmosphere for your oral and overall health.
We know that things have changed and we appreciate the patience of our amazing patients as we find our “new normal” and find a balance in keeping you safe along with an excellent dental experience.
If we have had to cancel your appointment or will need to in the future – don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you. You are on our mind and will be calling to reschedule as soon as we can figure out our new spacing requirements for appointments. Thank you for your understanding as we move forward.
Once again, as we open our doors to you wonderful friends, the most important thing is that we provide quality dental care and keep you as safe as possible. We look forward to seeing you soon. Please reach out to us if you have questions. The best way to reach us for the time being will be through e-mail. Info@keystonesmile.com
Sincerely,
Dr. Lamb and KDC Staff
