COVID-19 Continued Protocol Update 9/1/2020

Dear Vita Dental’s Patient,

Hope you and your family are doing well and staying safe and healthy. Over the last few months, we have worked hard at creating a space that is safe for you, your families and our team. We are incredibly thankful to have already cared for many of you and we look forward to continuing to serve all our patients. Thank you for placing your trust in us and for your patience while we all adapt to the new safety protocols. We will continue to ask that only the patient comes into the office. Should you have any questions or concerns while you wait, feel free to reach us by phone.

As school starts, we’ve added the new Indiana State Dept. of Health to our established safety protocols. Our goal is to continue to provide you and all our patients with the best and safest approach to your children’s dental care. If your child is unable to attend school due to having symptoms, living with someone who is currently COVID-19 positive, or needs to quarantine due to a possible school exposure please notify us so we can reschedule the appointment accordingly. We are also implementing these regulations internally with our team and ask for your understanding and compassion if we have to modify our schedule in an effort to keep your family safe and healthy.

Thank you for your continuous support and understanding. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your upcoming appointment, please call us at Vita Dental.

Sincerely,
Your Vita Dental family

 

 
 
 

COVID- 19 Updates
4/28/2020

We wanted to give you some updates with the understanding that this is all still fluid and we are trying to follow orders from the CDC, ADA, IDA and the State of Indiana. Unfortunately, we have been at the mercy of the government mandates on how quickly we are able to communicate new developments because they seem to be constantly changing.

We are currently trying to “open” our practices on May 4th to what we are considering Phase 1. Currently, we believe this will involve limited staff.

Phase 1 includes the following:

Types of Procedures

  1. Emergency Exams
  2. Emergency Extractions
  3. Post -Ops (example: suture removals that have been waiting for weeks)
  4. SDF, spacer repair, recement of spacers. (pedo)

Types of PPE we have available now

  1. N95s
  2. Kn95s
  3. Level 3 masks
  4. Level 2 Masks
  5. Level 1 masks
  6. Face Shields
  7. Gowns
  8. Gloves
  9. Hair coverings – Bouffant
  10.   Eye Protection
  11.   Shoe coverings (pending)

New Distancing Protocols

  1. Plexiglass dividers at Check-In and Check Outs
  2. Tape and signs of where to stand at Check-In and Check Outs
  3. Health Screening COVID-19 forms on the websites to fill out electronically and calls will be made days prior to appointments. (still developing)
  4. Reception rooms closed – Patients will call us from their cars when they arrive and they will be taken back. We will not have patients waiting in these areas.
  5. Temperature checks at cars before being taken directly to their operatory.
  6. Operatories not being scheduled back to back and allowing 10-20 min between patients to allow disinfecting
  7. Team will also be temperature screened when arriving daily
  8. If available there will be assigned runners for each practice so that fully outfitted team members can stay in their designated rooms without running out of their ops to gather supplies, trays, patients arriving, etc.

Uniforms

  1. Scrubs will be left at the office to launder.
  2. Shoes should remain at the office.

Let us know if you have any questions, we do not have an answer as to how long we will work at Phase 1. We are trying to help our patients while still trying to keep them and our teams safe and healthy.

Sincerely,
The Vita Dental Team

 
 
 

“In order to protect staff and preserve personal protective equipment and patient care supplies, as well as expand available hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that dental facilities postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits, and prioritize urgent and emergency visits and procedures now and for the coming several weeks. This aligns with recommendations from the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA) to postpone non-emergency and elective dental procedures, as well the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’s that all non-essential dental exams and procedures be postponed until further notice. This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and CDC will continue to update this guidance as more information becomes available.

Rest assured that your safety and the safety of our team is paramount – we thank you for the trust you have placed in our team.

Stay safe and healthy,
The Vita Dental Team