Important Information Regarding COVID-19

Dear Valued Patients,

We are accepting new and returning patients.

We have been thinking about you and hope that you and your family are safe and healthy. Everyone has been through a lot and is ready to start normal routines again, or as close as can be. As we welcome you back to our office, we want to reassure you that your safe treatment here is our number one goal. I mentioned in my previous newsletter some of the new precautions we are implementing to ensure your safety, but I am aware that some of you may not have received that newsletter, so I will mention some of the safeguards we have taken so far.

We have installed air purifiers throughout the office, that filter the air through six stages of filtration to remove any impurities, bacteria, viruses, etc. We will be using an extraoral vacuum system that will remove any aerosols generated when performing any such procedures in the mouth, to protect from the spread of any contaminants. We will also have another level of air purification that will disinfect any contaminants that will land on any surface. At the end of the day, we will be fogging the office to again disinfect anything that we cannot sterilize or wipe down, such as carpeting, walls, furniture to protect everyone in the office. This may be considered overdoing it, but we in the profession refer to it as a belt and suspenders approach.

In an effort to also conform to the current CDC and ADA guidelines, we will need to perform some extra tasks such as:

• Our staff will ask you screening questions before your appointment.
• We will ask you to wash or sanitize your hands when you come into the office.
• Because the social distancing requirement involves how many people are allowed in the office at a time, we will ask you to wait in your car instead of the reception room, and call us upon your arrival and we will call you when your room is ready.
• We also ask that you come into the office alone, if necessary, one caregiver or family member may come in with the patient, but please wear your mask.
• We will ask you similar screening questions and take your temperature when you come in.
• You may notice that all of us will be wearing masks, face shields, long coats, but that is a new requirement, so hopefully, you understand why we have to do this.
• We are allowing more time also between patients and using more rooms to allow more time to thoroughly clean between patients and allow us to change coats and other gear.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep everyone safe.

Please call us should you need help with any of this.

Thanks for your understanding, we forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,
Daniel R. Blazo, DDS