COVID-19

Arkona Dental Clinic COVID-19 Safety Protocol and Guidelines

Protecting Our Team, Our Patients and Our Community

Our goal at Arkona Dental Clinic has always been to provide the best dental care in the safest possible environment for our dental team and patients. COVID-19 has challenged every industry, including dentistry.  Our infection prevention standards have always been high, but COVID-19 has required the dental field to take a closer look at our daily protocols and revise them to maintain the high quality of infection prevention we have always employed..  We have reviewed and refined our infection prevention protocols in accordance with the Ministry of Health and both Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) and the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO). This document contains the safety measures, infection protocols and recommendations for our dental clinic.

1 YOUR APPOINTMENT

PATIENTS

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR YOUR ARKONA DENTAL CLINIC APPOINTMENT

Before arrival:

  • Complete a COVID-19 screen over the phone (includes specific questions pertaining to COVID risk). If you do not pass the COVID-19 screen, your appointment will be scheduled once your symptoms have resolved.
  • If you develop symptoms of a respiratory infection (i.e. new cough, sore throat, fever) on the day you are scheduled to be seen, call the clinic and reschedule your appointment.

When you arrive at the clinic, you will:

  • Be encouraged to wear a face mask within the clinic if you are waiting in the reception area. Please bring one from home if possible.
  • Immediately use the hand sanitizer when entering the clinic.
  • Have your temperature taken with a non-contact infra-red thermometer.
  • Complete COVID-19 screen with specific questions pertaining to COVID-risk to ensure no changes in your health status since booking your appointment.
  • Be escorted into an examination room.
  • Be asked to rinse with a peroxyl mouth rinse before starting your appointment.

During your appointment:

  • Room doors will be kept closed, except when entering/leaving.
  • Special precautions including PPE (gown, face mask, face shield) for your dental team will be followed during aerosol-generating procedures (AGP) (i.e. during fillings, cleanings, extractions, root canals, crown and bridge, implants).

After your appointment:

  • You will be asked to wash or disinfect hands before leaving the operatory and clinic.
  • As always, the Arkona Dental staff will assist you back to the reception area when leaving.

2 YOUR CLINIC

COVID-19 CHANGES AT ARKONA DENTAL

To promote social distancing, Arkona Dental is:

  • Prioritizing higher risk patients (immune-compromised, over 65 years old) with early appointments.
  • Adjusting our daily schedule to minimize the number of patients in the reception area.
  • Advising patients who are being accompanied, that their escort wait in the car. For children who need their guardian, we ask that only one guardian waits in the reception area.
  • A “virtual” reception area may be utilized where patients can opt to wait in their vehicle or outside the office where they can be contacted by mobile phone when it is their turn to be treated.
  • Reception chairs will be spaced 6 feet apart.

Safety measures taken:

  • Staff training and implementation of COVID-19 infection control measures including hand hygiene protocol and personal protective equipment (PPE) use.
  • Air purification system installation (Novaerus NV900 and Austin Air Purifier HV400) to disinfect the air, effectively eliminating 99.9% of airborne pathogens.
  • Frequent wipe down of reception area, bathrooms, door handles, tables, light switches, computers, etc. with disinfectant.
  • In addition to our normal day end cleaning procedures, an additional deep clean with a disinfecting fogging device will occur.
  • Leaving inner office door open to avoid contact with as many door handles as possible.
  • Visual alerts at the entrance door advising people to not enter the clinic if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Alcohol-based hand rub, tissues and no-touch receptacles for disposal will be available in the clinic
  • All clutter that is not easily disinfected (magazines, toys, rugs, etc.) will be removed from reception area and operatories.
  • Physical partitions/sneeze guards are at the reception desk.
  • All fabric surfaces have been removed and replaced with easily disinfected surfaces.
  • All non-disposable medical equipment used for patient care will be cleaned and disinfected according to manufacturer’s instructions.

WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT THESE GUIDELINES WILL CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL OF OUR PATIENTS AND TEAM MEMBERS.  WE HOPE THAT YOU FEEL SECURE IN KNOWING ARKONA DENTAL IS DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PROVIDE THE SAFEST CLINICAL CONDITIONS POSSIBLE.

3 YOUR TEAM

DENTAL TEAM

ARKONA DENTAL TEAM REQUIREMENTS

  • Training on hand hygiene protocol. Signage posted for reminders.
  • Training on the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) if required for their position.
  • If staff is not feeling well, they are encouraged to proactively stay home. Daily self-screening before each shift begins, including temperature check will be required. If any potential COVID-related symptoms present during a shift, the staff member will immediately be sent home.
  • Social distancing as able is required by team members throughout the day. Staff breaks and lunch must follow social distancing rules.
  • Checklist of recommendations for the team to follow has been created to help staff arrive to work healthy and go home to their families with no worry.

Given the increase in safety protocols and infection control, two specific roles have been introduced to focus on these efforts:

  1. A team member to focus on sterilization. This team member will be responsible for cleaning, sterilizing, disinfecting and wiping down the operatories and reception area on a regular basis.
  2. An infection control champion. This team member will be responsible for keeping track of inventory of PPE and infection control supplies.  They will also be the initial contact person for all training and any questions regarding infection control policies and protocols.
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