The McCarl Dental Group team is serious about the safety measures our dental offices are implementing during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. We appreciate and value our loyal patients and want to share some updates about new procedures. This is especially important now that non-emergency patients are returning to the dental office. Although we are seeing fewer patients than pre-COVID, we’re having more patients return for dental care than during the last few months. We’re taking even more precautions to keep our dental patients, our employees, and the Greenbelt community safe. You can learn more about the updates to our protocols by watching our video from Dr. Richard Duarte and reading this blog.
Alternative Waiting Room
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were taking temperatures, asking screening questions, and providing patients with masks after they entered our dental office. Now, we’re further minimizing risk by performing this process for patients in their cars. When you arrive at the office, we ask that you give us a call from your vehicle. One of our team members will come to you, and we ask that you put on a face mask before they get to your car. We’ll take your temperature using a touchless thermometer and ask a number of screening questions. While we’re doing our utmost to schedule patients with minimal overlap, there may be times when you’ll need to be in the waiting room for a short time. When this happens, we’ve set up our waiting area to be socially distant. We also have plastic shields up to protect our employees.
Our Office Protocols
When you enter the dental office, you’ll be asked to use a hand sanitizer right away to remove any germs on your hands. You’ll probably notice that it’s a little loud in our dental office. We’re using medical-grade air purifiers in our waiting room and each of the operatories. In addition to removing possible aerated viruses through our purifying systems, the masks we ask patients to wear limit aerosol throughout the office, and we’re using the Isolite system to significantly limit aeration during treatments. This is in addition to the purifying system and traditional high speed suction systems used during treatments.
Before we begin any treatment, we’ll ask that you use a pre-rinse with 1.5% hydrogen peroxide. Our team has always used a pre-rinse, but the new rinses are proven effective in minimizing virus transmission risk. The American Dental Association (ADA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the use of a 1% hydrogen peroxide rinse as best practices for dental offices. We are happy to exceed that minimum standard.
Our Employee Protocols
In addition to screening patients, we’re also screening our employees for COVID-19 each day. All employees are wearing face masks. During treatment, our dentists and team members will be wearing several layers of personal protective equipment (PPE). Specifically, we’ll wear a N95 face mask, a standard surgical face mask, and a facial shield. We’ll also wear a surgical gown that is either single use or cleaned between each patient. You will likely also see plastic shields in place on our reception desks, consultation tables, and in other areas. This is another layer of protection for our patients and employees.
Get to Know the McCarl Dental Group Team
Thank you for being a patient with the McCarl Dental Group in Greenbelt, Maryland. We have spent decades partnering with multiple generations of families in our community to achieve and maintain healthy, beautiful smiles. We know this unprecedented time has been difficult for all of us, but when you’re ready, we look forward to welcoming you back into the office. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or want to find out more.