COVID-19 Information

To Our Patients

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. 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. 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 dental practice. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association CDC and 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. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agency’s recommendations.

You will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff:

Screening Forms: Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some health screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you arrive at the office for your appointment. If you or anyone you have been in contact with had/ have flu-like symptoms, please cancel your appointment and consider a video appointment with your doctor.

Mask Required: We request you follow the county’s guideline and wear a face mask when you arrive for your appointment. You can take off your mask at the beginning of your dental treatment and reapply your mask at the end of your treatment.

Limited Entry: At this time we will allow patients only into the treatment area. All family members accompanying the patient are requested to wait either in their car or in the waiting room while following the social distancing guidelines. You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

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

How to Check in: We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. We request you arrive on time for your appointment. Upon arriving for your appointment you may come in to the waiting room, check in, and observe social distancing.

Limited Hours: Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment. We appreciate your understanding and hopefully this is a temporary inconvenience.

Additional measures we will be taking during this time:

Employee Health Screening: All employees and affiliated providers will undergo health history screenings before commencing employment. In addition, we strictly enforce sick policies that require employees suffering from communicable illnesses to stay home from work until they have clearance by a physician to return and have received supervisor approval. Employees who have traveled to a country with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Level 3 Travel Health Notice are required to self-quarantine for 14 days prior to returning to work. At this time, employees are required to wear masks at all times. Employees are also having their temperatures monitored daily prior to starting their shift.

Personal Protection: A plexiglass sneeze guard has been placed at our front desk. We request you address the front desk team members from behind it. Our team will also be fully equipped with masks and shields.

Disinfection: In our treatment facility, we will continue to clean before and after every patient encounter. We have added several HEPA/UV air purifiers throughout the office to help sanitize the air.

Hand Hygiene : According to the CDC, the most important steps we all can take to avoid infection from airborne diseases are frequent hand washing with soap and water and regular cleansing of highly-used surfaces with disinfectant. We recommend that all our patients take these basic precautions. Our bathroom sink will be available for hand washing only. You will not be able to use the sink to brush your teeth. The restroom in the lobby will also be available for hand washing use.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (925) 828-5335. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Cannatella, Dr. Moonka, Dr. Czekala, and Our Entire Team