Re-opening Procedures: COVID-19

 5/18/2020

We wanted to bring our patients an update on Governor Baker’s phased plan to reopen the state. Currently our office, dental, is considered to be in phase 2. Phase 2 is estimated to begin in the middle of June. At that time, we will be able to resume routine dental appointments again. In the mean time, both currently and throughout phase 1, we want you to know we are still here for you if you are having a dental emergency. Dental emergencies will be seen by appointment only. If you are having a dental emergency please call our office at 978-686-1616 and follow the instructions on the answering machine. We hope you all are doing well and are staying healthy. We can not wait to see all of your smiling faces, soon!

 

4/28/2020

Information on Re-Opening Procedures for Dental Offices Per the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Dental Society, and the Centers for Disease Control

Dear Patients,

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.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. 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.

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. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

·Our office will communicate with you before your appointment to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.

·We will have some new questionnaires on our website, which should be filled out prior to coming in to our office. Look for the "Patient Screening Form" tab on our website.  Please print and fill out these forms before your appointment, and bring them with you to the office.

·We ask that you call the office upon parking in the lot so that we can let you know when to come in to the office.  By admitting patients on an individual basis, we will minimize the likelihood of exposure and preserve social distancing procedures.

·We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for to use as needed.

·You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

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

·We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

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 (978)-686-1616. 

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

Sincerely,

Peter P. Devlin, DMD and Team