**COVID-19 Guidelines Update**

WELLNESS SCREENING Questionnaire

We are excited to announce that effective May 19, 2020 our offices will be reopening our schedule to all services!  What does this mean for our patients? It means that we will now be able to move forward with our patients’ care, such as cleanings, exams and basic procedures that we have had to delay in order to preserve the Personal Protective Equipment supplies for those fighting COVID-19.  While we were glad to do our part, we are very excited to get back to slaying sugar bugs!!

While our office has always prided itself on cleanliness and sterilization practices, we will be adding extra measures throughout the office to further protect you and our team during this pandemic.  We know that some of these changes will give a different experience in our office for you and your child.  Our number one goal has always been to keep your child happy and healthy and that becomes even more important in times like these.

Here are some of the things you can expect leading up to and during your next appointment with us:

• Please complete the Health Survey prior to your appointment.  Please contact us if your child or anyone in your immediate family has had symptoms of illness or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the two weeks leading up to your appointment.  We will ask these health questions again upon your arrival.  Thank you for your patience with this.
• We will be limiting the number of appointments each day in order to allow social distancing within our office, so long as this is a requirement by our state. 
• We ask that only 1 parent/guardian accompanies the patient/s to the dental appointment.  Please do your best to limit other non-patient visitors.
• We ask that any non-patient who enters our office wear a mask to prevent spread of the virus.  There will be a hand sanitizing station at the entrance for all to use upon entry.
• Once patients are checked in, we will do our very best to bring you and your child back to the treatment area as quickly as possible.  Please maintain social distance while waiting.
• You will notice our waiting area looks different-we have spaced out the chairs and removed many items that may increase spread of the virus.  This includes removal of toys and closing off our play areas.  
• If a parent/guardian would prefer not to join their child in the treatment area, we ask that they consider waiting in their car in order to minimize the number of visitors in the waiting area.  We will be sure to reconnect you and your child immediately after the appointment and will fill you in on how it went.  
• We will be checking the temperature of each patient prior to treatment and we will be expanding our pre-operative questionnaire.
• We will look different!  At this time, our team will be wearing masks and some  additional gear. We will remain in them throughout your visit.  Please know we will be smiling under them and will do our best to convey that to your child!  

We understand that with these extra precautions in place the overall experience in our office is going to feel different for the time being.  We feel confident that these will only be temporary and that we will be able to resume our traditional operations in the near future. We would also like to ask for your patience during this transition as we are aware that we may experience some challenges along the way. We will continue to re-evaluate and adapt our systems to accommodate our patients and minimize any challenges.

Please contact us with ANY questions our concerns you may have.  These are challenging times for all and we want to do our very best to make your visit as successful as possible.  We truly thank you for choosing us for your child’s care!