As we start welcoming people to our James Island dental office, we want to ensure each of you that we are taking the safety of our patients and staff very seriously. Our high standard of care ensures that your trust and safety are never compromised. In addition to the stringent OSHA sterilization procedures previously in place, we are following the guidelines of the CDC and the American Dental Association to address the current concerns related to COVID-19.
Social Distancing
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean you are 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 reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
In order for us to keep traffic in our practice to a minimum, we ask that you contact our office if you are going to arrive more than 5 minutes before your appointment OR more than 5 minutes late.
We also ask that only the patient enter our office to limit the number of people inside at one time. Obviously we are fine with a parent accompanying a young child, but please use your best judgment when it comes to older children and do your best to come alone if you are the patient.
Temperature Readings and COVID-19 Symptoms
We will be sending out a pre-screening COVID-19 questionnaire to be completed online once your appointment is reserved. Please ensure this is completed before your appointment.
All visitors will have their temperatures taken and be screened again for symptoms before they are allowed to enter the treatment area. If symptoms are present, or they have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, we will ask them to reschedule their appointment. Staff members will also be screened to ensure we are symptom-free as well.
While rescheduling an appointment or us being short-staffed may be inconvenient, we hope you will be patient as we do our best to keep everyone healthy.
Digital Forms
We are implementing a 100% paperless system and ask that all forms related to your appointment be completed before your visit. You will receive an email with the necessary forms attached. We also have a mobile app you can download to access and fill out the forms, check in and confirm your visits, customize your reminders, make payments, and collect loyalty points to exchange at our office for amazing gifts!
Personal Sanitization
Our new welcome when you come for your visit may be a wave or a friendly elbow bump as we want to do everything possible to minimize hand-to-hand contact. We assure you it’s equally genuine and we are just as happy to see you!
All of us at Holy City Dentistry have always thoroughly washed our hands with antibacterial soap and water or hand sanitizer between every patient, before every exam, and any time we come into contact with a high-touch surface in the office. We will continue to be diligent about this. We will also be changing our personal protective equipment (gloves, masks, barriers, etc.) between every patient, as we always have to reduce any chances of cross-contamination.
We are asking all who enter to wash their hands in the restroom or use hand sanitizer in the office. We will also be asking patients to rinse with mouthwash before their treatment begins to reduce the number of microorganisms that might be released in the form of aerosols and splatter.
Office Sterilization
Office sterilization has always been one of our top priorities, and we have used the most stringent guidelines and current technology available to keep our exam rooms and equipment clean. We have purchased brand-new, state-of-the-art sterilization equipment that we regularly monitor according to CDC regulations.
In addition to our regular procedures, we are now disinfecting the following on a regular schedule throughout the day:
- Reception area
- Front desk
- Door knobs and light switches
- Counters
- Keyboards, phones, other office equipment
Our goal is to provide quality dentistry in a safe, relaxing environment. We feel these additional precautions will accomplish this goal. As we receive new information from the various agencies, we will continue to update our processes to keep everyone involved in our practice healthy.
We look forward to meeting or welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends. We 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 (843) 278-6989.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to email Dr. Castles personally at drcastles@holycitydentistry.com.