Office Reopening 5.11.20

Hello Trinity Dental Loft Family,

We hope that you all are staying healthy and have made it through this lengthy stay-at home mandate in one piece. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel and it looks like we are nearing finish line. While the city is close to opening back up, there will definitely be a new “normal” as we all continue to do our part to prevent the spread.

As of May 1st, dental offices are permitted to resume elective treatment with a number of new regulations and restrictions. We are thrilled to have the green light to resume business, however it is also our duty to keep both our patients and our dental team safe. We will be implementing new procedures in accordance with recommendations from the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association and Centers for Disease Control.

The first of these new guidelines states that dental healthcare personnel are temporarily prohibited from creating aerosols during hygiene procedures. This means that we are unable to use the cavitron machine (that vibrating tip that squirts out water) during dental cleanings. We are only able to hand scale teeth and polish. We understand that some patients would prefer to have their teeth cleaned with the cavitron;if that is your preference, please call and let us know we will make special arrangements to do so at a later date.

The second, and most critical, of these new guidelines is the use of additional personal protective equipment, PPE, which help prevent the transmission of disease. Specifically, any dental procedure that creates aerosols, requires the use of N95 or KN95 masks. As many of you are aware, there is a shortage of medical protective gear including surgical masks, N95 respirator masks, KN95 masks, disposable gowns and face shields. Most of the supply is being routed to hospital setting to make sure thatproviders are equipped to take care of critically ill patients. Therefore, this has left many dental offices, including Trinity Dental Loft, without the critical PPE to immediately resume elective treatment. We expect that we will finally receive the protective equipment sometime at the end of next week. Therefore, we will not resume elective treatment until the week of May 11th when we can be sure that we can keep both our patients and our team safe.

We want you to know that we are doing everything in our power to resume taking care our patients while also limiting the spread of coronavirus. Dental offices have always taken extreme care to avoid the spread of potential pathogens through the use of surgical masks, eye protection, surgical evacuation suctions, sterilization of equipment and disinfection of all surfaces in the offices. We are now taking even further steps to implement more measures to keep everyone safe from the novel coronavirus. Here are some of our new and recently implemented protocols:

– There will be weekly staff meeting to discuss current guidelines aroundCovid-19 to make sure that our office protocols provide the greatest precautions.

– All dental team members will be screened for the 9 major coronavirus symptoms daily, including having their temperature checked. These symptoms are:

• Cough
• Fever
• Chills
• Repeated Shaking with chills
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smells

– All patients will be screened for coronavirus symptoms as well as agreeing to inform Trinity Dental Loft if they are or have been in close contact with any confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases as well as letting the office know if they do contract coronavirus within 14 days of having been to our office. Patients who do not meet criteria for treatment will be referred to a primary healthcare provider.

– We are asking patients to call the office once they arrive in the parking lot. At this point, the front desk will make sure that your room is ready to go so that you can be brought directly in to the treatment area. If for some reason, the room is not yet available or the reception area is not yet clear, we will ask patients to wait in their car until we are able to seat them.

– We unfortunately will not be able to allow companions to any dental visits, unless the patient is a child under 13 years of age. Companions will not be allowed in the waiting room or the treatment room and will be asked to wait in the car.

– Patients will be asked to rinse with a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water (provided in office) to reduce the oral viral load prior to any treatment.

– We will do our best to accommodate any same day treatment. We are aware that many of our patients are choosing to limit their trips outside of the home, and as a result would like to get as much done as possible during each visit. We will try our best to make this happen.

We are still navigating this new normal, and there are likely changes to come, but we are looking forward to seeing all of you again! We will start reaching out to reschedule appointments that had to be cancelled first thing on Monday morning. If you have any dental emergencies prior to May 11th, please reach out to us, as we will definitely accommodate. Thank you all for your patience, we’re looking forward to getting back to work, and remember to keep yourselves and your loved ones safe!

~ The Trinity Dental Loft Team