April, 2020

Our offices have now reopened. Our top priority is the safety and wellness of our patients, their families, and our staff. We have been closely monitoring all recommendations and mandates from the Center for Disease Control, the American Dental Association and state and local governments to ensure that we are taking every necessary precaution to prevent any exposure to COVID-19 in our dental practice.We’re paying special attention to every detail – from patient arrival, to procedure, to check out – and we are instituting new protocols for all appointments. Please review these important guidelines.Our safety guidelines and practicesPhoto by Kelly SikkemaBefore your appointmentIf you, or your children, are not feeling well, or if you believe anyone in your family has been exposed to COVID-19, then please call us and reschedule your routine appointment. This applies to all patients who have had a fever, cough, or shortness of breath within the past two weeks.Please help us be efficient with your time. If there is need to update any patient, medical or insurance information prior to your child’s appointment, please communicate with one of our Appointment Coordinators either by the “Online Chat” from our website, cltpediatricdentistry.com or directly by phone, 704-377-3687 as early as possible. Paper forms will be available at the time of the appointment if necessary, but this may increase your wait time.During your appointmentPlease plan to be on time for your scheduled appointment as we will try to minimize the wait time and the number of people in the reception area to maintain distancing guidelines. For these reasons, we may reschedule the appointment for any child who is excessively late to arrive.Everyone entering our dental office will have their temperature taken. If a fever (temperature greater than 100.4 degrees) is present in any member of the family, we must reschedule the appointment(s). Everyone entering our practice will be required to wear a face covering as recommended by the CDC and to sanitize their hands.Please limit the number of people coming to the dental appointment to the patient(s) and one parent or guardian. Any child who does not have an appointment will be asked to wait in their car with a parent.During the procedure one parent or guardian my accompany their child, and must maintain social distancing from other patients who may be present. We encourage all parents to remain in their car during their children’s appointment. We will gladly text you at the conclusion of the appointment so you may rejoin your child.Each one of our offices has a large waiting area, which ensures all incoming and outgoing patients will be able to remain 6-10 feet apart. We will limit the number of people who can access our reception and clinical seating areas. If these areas are occupied and a wait time is necessary, you may be asked to return to your car. If so, we will text you as soon as we are prepared for your child.Our sanitation protocolsPhoto by Clay BanksA properly managed dental office is a very safe environment for patients, staff and doctors. Here is what we’re doing to ensure patient health is protected during your visit.We sanitize our public areas such as waiting room seating, check-in and check-out areas, tables, door handles and other hard surfaces after each family visit.We thoroughly clean each clinical room including wiping down all potential areas of contact such as doorknobs, chairs, and equipment with medical grade disinfectant wipes between each patient.Our team is being vigilant about frequent hand washing and regular use of hand sanitizer between each patient encounter, as is standard for our practice.We have upgraded our air handling systems to maximum particulate filtration capabilities and have installed a hospital-grade HEP/Ultraviolet Light air disinfection system.We have doubled down on our training protocols. Doctors, hygienists and clinical staff have been trained in the proper use of personal protective equipment to include masks, shields, goggles, gloves and gowns as per CDC recommendations for direct health care facilities.We instruct any employee who feels ill to stay home and consult their healthcare providers.Contact our team to schedule an appointmentWe are available now to schedule your children’s appointments. Please call us at 704-377-3687, or use the live chat feature on our website, to speak with one of our customer care representatives. We’ll answer any questions you may have regarding our safety protocols, schedule your next appointment, and discuss any paperwork requirements prior to your visit.

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