COVID-19 Corona Virus Prevention and Control Protocols

1. All patients and visitors will be asked if they have traveled outside of the country since December 2019 or have been in contact with someone who has. If so, a more involved discussion will take place in an isolated area, as to their relative risk of hosting the virus.
2. Patients who are ill and experiencing flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness & a cough or fever will be required to postpone visits and elective dental procedure visits. Such patients will be encouraged to seek medical attention.
3. As a part of Hellertown Dental Group’s screening process, all patients will be screened by thermometer to detect early signs of viral infection. If a patient is experiencing fever or any other relative symptoms while here at the office, they are to be rescheduled for another time, at once. Symptoms and recommendations will be recorded in the patient’s chart and the patient will be advised to seek medical attention immediately.
4. As an extra precaution, the office is continuously being disinfected throughout the day, and again will be disinfected at the end of each day. The closing employees will be responsible for, and is not limited to the following: spraying down reception room chairs with Lysol, wiping all access point door handles and all light switches, spraying/wiping down the bathroom and front desks, as well as the consultation room table and chairs.
5. Hand sanitizer will be placed at the front desk. Employees will encourage patients to use the hand sanitizer and/or encourage adequate hand hygiene practices. All staff will accelerate the frequency and duration of hand washing techniques. If any employee suspects a patient of having the COVID-19 virus, the CDC mandates that we report such suspicion to our State Health Department.
6. For the safety of our patients, all magazines in our patient lounge area have been removed and we have suspended use of our coffee machine for patients and employees.
7. If a patient is experiencing a dental emergency, our Dentists will communicate with them over the phone to determine the nature of the emergency. If possible, they will be referred to a local medical facility. If, however, their need for in-office treatment is required and our Dentists feel capable of treating the emergency, we will make arrangements to see the patient during a time when other patients will not be present or affected in any way. Such patients will be provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) immediately upon arrival and placed in an isolated treatment room at once. PPE protocols for Dentists and employees will be practiced traditionally & worn at all times, according to our policy of universal precautions. All PPE worn by employees working with ill patients and PPE worn by patients would are ill will be carefully bagged and discarded in the biohazards waste receptacle, not in regular waste bins.
8. All of the above-mentioned prevention control measures will be practiced by all employees until advised otherwise.

Hellertown Dental Group is dedicated to the prevention and spread of the COVID-19 virus. Our priority is to help keep each other, our patients & our office healthy.