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Etobicoke Dental Care - Update on Reopening

by Dr. Mark Pasternak

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Dear Friends,

Once again, I hope this message finds everyone healthy and relatively happy! There is good news to report on two fronts:

 

Dentistry has been given the go-ahead to resume, albeit under very strict and onerous guidelines (more details below).

 

The CDC posted a report to their website indicating the virus has negligible transmissibility from surfaces. This was something we suspected from the beginning, but confirmation of this is good news. It is not to say that we should not be careful and mindful of best practices when touching things, but the risks of getting the virus this way are very low.

 

Our college has given us guidelines on return to practice. They have expanded services we can offer with some conditions. Most of these conditions are related to aerosols generated through high-speed handpieces and cavitron (ultrasonic scaler used by hygienists). Initially, they do not want us to use the cavitron at all, and they have provided guidelines for the use of handpieces. It is important to note that none of their recommendations are based on research done within the dental field. We know that aerosol generation is a virtual non-issue because of our use of high volume suction. The guidelines do not account for this. However, for the time being, we must adhere to the guidelines.

 

There are also strict guidelines on the use of PPE’s (which are incredibly difficult to get and very costly when available). 

There are strict guidelines for the screening of patients and the flow of patients in and out of the office.

 

It is my personal belief that our office should meet or exceed the guidelines at all times. This is for the safety of the staff, doctors and patients. Here are some of the things we are doing:

  1. Barriers and doors are being placed throughout the office to isolate all treatment rooms.
  2. We are re-engineering the air duct system to more efficiently move air out of the treatment rooms and filter the air with UV-C.
  3. Stand-alone air filtration units will be added to all treatment rooms. These filters use HEPA and UV-C to filter air.
  4. Patients that are signed up to receive email or text notices for appointments will receive screening forms and instructions pertaining to their visit. Patients will have their temperature taken, and pulse O2 readings taken when coming into the office.
  5. Strict screening protocols for staff are being put in place, including twice-daily temperature and pulse O2 readings.
  6. Our office will be fogged twice daily in addition to our already strict disinfection protocols.

These action items are in progress, and will be coming online in the next few weeks. Our office will not open full time until the first two changes are completed.

 

I know this seems like a lot, but it really isn’t. There is no healthcare profession outside of hospitals better equipped to deal with this event than dentistry. We have always adhered to the highest standards of infection control. It is important to note that in countries and states that did not shut down dentistry, no documented transmission of COVID has occurred in a dental office.

 

We will slowly be ramping up our services over the next few weeks, but we are of course, still available for emergencies. As we get closer to our re-opening date, I will send another email detailing what the patient appointment will look like. I want everyone to have confidence that the experience of our team and doctors is something you can count on to navigate us all through these exceptional times. I personally am excited to be working again, and to see all of our patients again. We are an incredibly adaptable species, and we will triumph over the circumstances we now find ourselves in.

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Pasternak

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