We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

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Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

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Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.  

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In addition, we are going beyond recommendations. We have placed a medical grade HEPA filter in each operatory.  We have several ADS extra oral suctions with HEPA and UV-C filters to capture aerosols before they escape into the surrounding environment.  We are spacing patient appointments to allow for social distancing.  We are fogging our operatories between patients with hypochlorous acid.  Hypochlorous acid is a non-toxic EPA registered disinfectant that has been proven effective against SARS-CoV-2.  Lastly, we have installed MERV 13 filters into our brand new HVAC system to capture any lingering aerosols in the air.

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Here are the new steps you will encounter at your next appointment:

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• We will communicate with you before your appointment to ask you to fill out a COVID-19 pre-appointment screening form.

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• We will no longer be providing you with pillows, safety glasses, or blankets. Please feel free to bring your own for your protection and comfort.

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• You will be required to wear a mask at all times in our office when not seated in a treatment chair.  Please refrain from wearing a mask with an exhalation valve.  Exhalation valves allow your unfiltered breath to escape and does not protect others around you.

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• We ask that you either call or check in with the front desk when you arrive, return to your car to wait for your appointment.  We are no longer allowing patients or their family members to wait in our waiting room.  We will come out or call you to come in when we are ready to see you.  

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• We will ask you to use hand sanitizer when you enter the office.  The hand sanitizer is placed conveniently on the front desk right as you enter.

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• We will check your temperature and you will be asked to reschedule if you have a temperature higher than 100.4 ℉.   

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• When you are first seated in a treatment chair, we will have you to rinse with a 1.5% solution of hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds.  A pre-appointment rinse with peroxide has been proven to decrease any possible viral load in the mouth.

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• Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, books, and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

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• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.

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Right now we feel it is a safe time to resume elective dental treatment.  We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (510)-559-9000 or email at info@elcerritodentistry.com.  

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

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Sincerely,

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Ian Iwane, DDS and Team