COVID-19 Disclosures

 The purpose of this page is to educate you about what to expect when you make an appointment with us as we enter the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With or without a public health crisis, each dental operatory is always thoroughly cleaned with Cavicide (a hospital grade sanitizer and disinfectant). All items used on you, or on the same tray as items used for you, are either disposable or go through a 2 step sterilization process, ensuring your safety. Your dental professionals will always wear masks when working on you, and of course clean gloves which are replaced several times during each procedure. Each operatory chair is separated from other operatory chairs by a minimum of 10 feet, and either a partial or complete wall. Please be assured there is very small risk of you ever catching an infectious disease at the dental office.

In addition to standard hygiene protocol, we have initiated some new procedures during this pandemic. We have been seeing urgent cases throughout the closure, but as we add non-urgent cases back into our schedule, we will continue to keep these procedures in place. This includes patients waiting in their cars upon arrival to the dental office. You may either phone the office from your cell phone or knock at the door to let us know you have arrived. We will bring you back as soon as the doctor or Kathryn are ready for you. You will find hand sanitizer at the front desk for your use. Common areas are being cleaned more frequently, including pens. We will continue with these strategies until further notice.

Having said all this, your dental professionals are at a VERY high risk of catching droplet-borne disease from YOU. This is because of the nature of dentistry: spray is being created inside your mouth by the tools of the trade. Viruses love to travel on these droplets! Think how you would feel if your dentist caught a virus from you and became seriously ill. With this in mind, we ask the following from all patients who come in for an appointment:

1. Set your appointment date beyond 14 days of a) returning from any travel to an area with a higher infection rate, b) being in close contact with anyone with confirmed disease.

2. If you have a fever of 99.5 degrees or higher, have a new cough or shortness of breath or other signs of illness, please wait to make your appointment. 

3. If symptoms or circumstances change between the time you make your appointment and the day of, please call our office to discuss it.

We realize that there is conflicting information out there about this disease and who is most vulnerable to it. Additionally, some people feel that unwarranted limitations have been created, while others feel that more strict measures should be taken. We respect everyone's right to disagree on this matter but must err on the side of caution because we are healthcare providers, and all debate aside, much of our patient population is elderly or has some kind of compromised immunity.

Please contact us if you have any further questions.

Notice of Nondiscrimination - ACA Section 1557

Discrimination is Against the Law

[Name of covered entity] complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. [Name of covered entity] does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

[Name of covered entity]:

  • Provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as:
    • Qualified sign language interpreters
    • Written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats)

  • Provides free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as:
    • Qualified interpreters
    • Information written in other languages

If you need these services, contact [Name of Civil Rights Coordinator]

If you believe that [Name of covered entity] has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, you can file a grievance with: [Name and Title of Civil Rights Coordinator], [Mailing Address], [Telephone number ], [TTY number—if covered entity has one], [Fax], [Email]. You can file a grievance in person or by mail, fax, or email. If you need help filing a grievance, [Name and Title of Civil Rights Coordinator] is available to help you.

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf, or by mail or phone at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-800-368-1019, 800-537-7697 (TDD)
Complaint forms are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/file/index.html.

Statement of Nondiscrimination - ACA Section 1557

[Name of covered entity] complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.