Open Letter to Our Patients Regarding the Suspension of Routine Hygiene Services and Elective Dental Care
Dear Patient Family,
First and foremost, I write to tell you that we are here for you, and we will be here to treat you. Just like everyone else, we are so excited to get past this difficult time of uncertainty and just get back to “normal.” However, this week, the Texas State Dental Board has recommended we follow the recent American Dental Association request that the dentists of our nation suspend elective healthcare and non-emergency treatment for those with the COVID-19 virus or with symptoms which lead to suspicion of the virus. In light of this request and after careful consideration, we have decided that we will cancel our routine dental cleanings and elective treatments that can be deferred for a short time without creating further risk.
The difficulty resides in determining what is emergent or urgent vs elective treatment. As many of you can attest, a patient with a cracked tooth or a dental infection or a tooth abscess is definitely experiencing an urgent dental situation, although they may not need an emergency room at the moment. Waiting three weeks, which most likely will be longer due to the backlog this interruption will create, is life altering, pain inducing and places their overall health at risk. The stated goal of the ADA’s strong request is to prevent dental emergencies from furthering the strain on our hospital emergency rooms at this critical time. We play a part of the protection of this system on which we all depend.
Once again, we want you to know that we are here for you. For those of you with upcoming routine cleaning appointments between now and April 4th, we will be contacting you to discuss your appointment. One of the efforts we are making to fight this viral enemy is pre-screening. We will be asking over the phone if you have any flu-like symptoms and will be taking your temperature upon arrival. Patients with a fever or any upper respiratory symptoms will be rescheduled for their visit after they are symptom free and cleared medically, if needed. Also, we will observe proper social distancing and limit the number of patients in our waiting rooms.
We are following heightened protocol of wiping contact surfaces (door handles, counters, etc.) with our hospital grade disinfectant multiple times in the morning and the afternoon. In our reception rooms, we have also removed reading materials which can pass germs from person to person.
In our clinical areas, we provide the highest level of disinfection and sterilization procedures at all times. Many of you may not realize this, but I would like to brag on our staff in this area. They undergo annual training in both OSHA (for creating and maintaining a safe work environment) and infection and disease control. We follow these highest levels on a daily basis. We monitor our sterilization process and equipment is maintained regularly and tested often for its effectiveness.
We want you to know that your health and safety is of utmost importance to our dental family. After all, each of us is concerned about loved ones at home and want to protect others from any and all illnesses. Now more than ever, we can see that our own health is interrelated to the health of others.
In summary, I want to thank you for trusting us to care for you. I want to assure you that we are monitoring what are sometimes hourly messages from governing officials. Thankfully, our dentists and hygienists are active members in many dental organizations, so we are receiving daily information from The American Dental Association, The Texas Dental Association, The Academy of General Dentistry, The International Congress of Oral Implantologists, The Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control along with information from our many vendors.
May we all stay healthy and at peace during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Chip Mercer, D.D.S.
Fielder Park Dental
