What Should I Do Now?

COVID-19 hit the world and it has affected virtually every aspect of our lives. Even though things are starting to open up, many are still suffering and in fear - facing difficult challenges as the future unfolds.

Many of us are still fearful about leaving the safety of our homes and venturing out into this potentially dangerous world we are now faced with. Most of us are limiting our trips outside of the home for only the most important of things.

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Today, I would like to deal with the question:

Should I See The Dentist During COVID?

Dental care certainly does not rise to the "life or death" standard as do some other medical conditions - BUT ... Dental Health, particularly health of your gum tissues and failing to not properly manage the bacterial population in your mouth, can affect your whole body.

Postponing Dental Care can have consequences…

Dental conditions such as decay and tooth infections can lead to other complications. If decay is present, it will continue to progress until it is removed and the affected tooth is restored. However, in more severe cases, an infection or abscess may form.

Therefore, it is very important to answer the question:

With those concerns in mind, we have taken extensive steps in our San Diego dental office, to lessen the potential for exposure and to help us maintain a safer environment for you and our staff alike. Our goal has not been to just follow accepted practices, but to go beyond them and make improvements whenever and wherever possible.

Here is what we have done to make our office a Safer Place for you...

Implemented new Screening Procedures and Protocols - from your door to ours.

• We ask you to wait in your car until we are ready to escort you to your treatment room. We maintain strict protocols for patient contact. We prohibit gathering in our reception room.
• We require everyone who enters our office to wear a mask. We will be masked when we greet you - one person at a time. We will review our screening questions, obtain a no touch body temperature, and ask that you use our hand sanitizer station.
• Following your initial screening, we escort you to a disinfected and barriered treatment room that has been prepared for your visit.
• We are very careful to not allow patients to come in contact with each other in the hallways and doorways to maintain social distancing.
• The restroom is disinfected by our staff after each patient use.
• Our staff wear appropriate PPE, masks and gloves during all procedures.
• For your protection during any business transactions, our front desk counter openings are protected from cross contamination with plexiglass barriers and our credit card terminals are disinfected after each use.

Installed modifications to our Ventilation System throughout the building.

• Before re-opening during the height of the COVID crisis, we permanently installed a positive pressure ventilation system. The system dramatically reduces the potential for re-breathing air exhaled by everyone in the building.
• By injecting fresh air and exhausting the air from the building through the treatment rooms, fresh air is constantly being circulated. Our filters are changed every three months to maintain clean recirculated air.
• These procedures dramatically reduce potential exposures, especially since the air is turned over within the building 8 times per hour with fresh outside air.

Installed the EVADE™ Filtration System - designed and patented by Dr. Masek - at every patient treatment chair.

• The EVADE™ System removes potentially contaminated aerosols from our office and specifically the patient treatment areas right where they are generated. Look for more details on the EVADE™ System in our next newsletter.

These safety features are the “new normal” in our dental practice located at 8505 Navajo Rd San Diego, CA.

We are doing our best to help you feel good about addressing your dental care during and after COVID.

So, Is It OK To Visit Dr. Masek's Office?

We sincerely hope that the steps we have taken give you a comfort level that allows you to say YES! to this question.

EACH PATIENT MUST DECIDE,

BUT WE BELIEVE THE ANSWER IS:

YES!

We hope you will be comfortable referring your family and friends as well. Please consider sharing this newsletter with anyone you know who may be wondering about their safety in our dental office.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Dr. Masek and Staff

619-MySmile