Dean Street Dental's COVID-19 Provisions
Your Health & safety have always been our top priority.
Provision 1
employee health screening
Provision 2
COVID-19 Consent Form
Provision 3
Please No Guests
Provision 4
Air purification & everyday disinfectant
Provision 5
Staff training
Provision 6
elevated infection control
Provision 7
ppe for all staff
Provision 8
contactless check-in and check-out
Provision 12
common area disinfecting
Hey!
I Am Dr. john isbrandt
With over 36 years of dental experience at Dean Street Dental, health and safety is always our first priority. This has never changed – in fact, it has only intensified. We are dedicated, to maintaining a safe environment for all of our patients throughout the Fox Valley area. We know that now, moving forward, our commitment to your safety is even more important to you. The picture here is of me and my daughter, Alyssa. Every number has a name and everyone affected by the virus is somebody’s family member. Therefore, even though we’ve had some backlash from patients on some of our provisions, we will not tolerate anything less than CDC, OSHA & American Dental Society’s® requirements. Also, the Illinois Department of Public Health has advised that Dental practices are open for all procedures. We will also be implementing new, additional safety protocols wherever we can. We hope that you will be understanding and back our decision to take this virus as seriously as we possibly can. Thank you for your understanding.
Our Return to Health Pledge
Visit Our Office With confidence because dentistry is essential
Help Us flatten the curve by following the guidelines
We have implemented strict infection control, protective equipment, pre-screening, and social distancing protocols and continue to abide by all CDC, ADA, state and local guidelines to keep you and our staff safe.
But don't neglect your oral health in the process
Often overlooked, but Dental Care is of utmost importance when it comes to your overall health. You can prevent a plethora of cardiac diseases that can become fatal, like heart attacks & strokes for example, by strategically planning to put your dental & oral health first.
we can minimize our impact, but also take care of our health
As part of our Return to Health pledge, we are committed to maintaining best in class safety standards and providing you with ongoing oral health education, helping you feel safe and empowered when it comes to your dental care.
Help Us flatten the curve by following the guidelines
We have implemented strict infection control, protective equipment, pre-screening, and social distancing protocols and continue to abide by all CDC, ADA, state and local guidelines to keep you and our staff safe.
But don't neglect your oral health in the process
Often overlooked, but Dental Care is of utmost importance when it comes to your overall health. You can prevent a plethora of cardiac diseases that can become fatal, like heart attacks & strokes for example, by strategically planning to put your dental & oral health first.
we can minimize our impact, but also take care of our health
As part of our Return to Health pledge, we are committed to maintaining best in class safety standards and providing you with ongoing oral health education, helping you feel safe and empowered when it comes to your dental care.
COVID-19 Consent Form
We are now open and welcome you to call in or schedule your appointment online. Our team has been working hard to create a safe and comfortable environment for patients as your safety is our highest priority. Without further delay, let’s discuss the 12-step program we have implemented to make sure our patients are safe:
Before your appointment, you will be required to fill out a consent form in regard to Covid-19. It must be completely filled out before the appointment.
Please No Guests
We will respectfully ask our patients and families to limit extra companions on their trip to our office in order to reduce the number of people in the reception area.
When possible, we will ask our parents and families to remain outside or in their cars to limit the total number of people in the building.
If you are being accompanied by a guest such as a spouse, parent, child, etc., that person must wait outside the office. If your guest is absolutely needed to come into the operatory, they will need to wear a mask or face shield.
Air Purification & Everyday Disinfectant
We have multiple air purification systems in our office: the IWAVE & Pure Zone HEPA Filtration system. Studies show that these technologies are proven to remove 99.7 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns and reduce pathogens, allergens & particles.
We will also implement mandatory disinfecting of our equipment and office regularly. Medical Grade HEPA-13 and HEPA-14 air purification systems: These are the most powerful and highest-tier filters that help capture and prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses in the air.
We have invested in Ultra Low Volume Foggers to further sanitize our air, equipment and everything else in our operatories. The fogger helps hit every surface as well as the air, and is 100 times more effective than bleach yet is safe to breathe, and is considered a “green” product.
During procedures, we are utilizing healthcare techniques that reduce aerosol production, including high-volume evacuation.
Staff Training
Our doctors, hygienists assistants, and office staff underwent extensive safety training to practice enhanced universal precautions and known COVID exposure protocol. We remain up to date as new guidelines are released and will continue to train our staff accordingly.
Elevated Infection Control
We elevated our infection control standards in accordance with new guidelines from the ADA and CDC, including thorough sterilization and disinfection of treatment rooms and instruments between each patient.
The foundation of our infection control procedures is based on requirements established by the CDC that state that all body fluids are treated as infectious because patients with blood-borne infections can be asymptomatic or unaware that they are infected. This includes body fluids in airborne droplets from coughs or sneezes.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used in our office, which includes gowns, eye-protective wear with side protection, face shields, masks and gloves are designed to ensure that no blood or body fluids can be passed between staff and patients. These items are washed and/or discarded between patients to mitigate any patient-to-patient transmission.
Strict surface sterilization procedures are followed to clean and disinfect all operatory surfaces between patients and, after each use, all dental instruments are cleaned and heat sterilized in steam autoclave machines in individual sterile pouches. Our protocol continues to be guided by the Centers for Disease Control, Occupational Safety and Hazardous Administration and the American Dental Association.
The use of disposables, where applicable, thorough room disinfection, and our sterilization procedures are consistent with the recommendations of these organizations and have been for many years. You will now notice shields in our front desk area and a consistent wiping down of the waiting area.
Our doors remain open for ventilation and to decrease door knob contact. The waiting area and rooms will have hand sanitizer and wipes available for use. We have implemented single-use Isolate suction mouthpieces, single-use disposable gowns & single-use barrier tape.
We sanitize each operatory before and after every procedure with medical grade disinfectant wipes and spray, in addition to our new air purification systems. Frequent hand washing, before and after every appointment with antibiotic soap is also a given.
PPE For All Staff
All staff members will be wearing enhanced PPE in accordance with CDC & ADA recommendations, including N95 masks, face shields, and gowns. PPE has garnered lots of media attention over the past several weeks.
At this time, we have adequate gloves, masks, gowns, eye protection, and face shields for all of our staff members. You will notice a new look in your dental team as lab coats, gowns, and face shields have become routine in our day to day practice. At this time we will be reminding you to wear a face mask to the office. It is not necessary for a child under 2 years old.
We always use appropriate PPE, including N95 masks covered by surgical masks, clean surgical gowns, gloves, eye protection, hair covering, and face shields.
Pre-Screening All Patients
All patients will be asked several screening questions prior to coming in for appointments. Due to concerns about patient and employee safety, we ask that non-emergency patients experiencing flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and difficulty breathing) and patients who have returned from travel to a country with a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice in the past 14 days reschedule their appointments.
All patients will undergo a pre-treatment screening interview and temperature check upon arrival in accordance with CDC and American Dental Association recommended guidelines, as well as infectious disease screening when you walk in – taking temperature, symptoms inquiry, travel history.
Face masks – All patients must wear masks when entering our office.
Temperature: We will be taking your temperature when you enter the office with a Forehead Infrared Thermometer. If you have a body temperature of 99.1 degrees or more, we will ask you to reschedule the appointment.
Employee Health Screenings
All employees and affiliated providers undergo detailed background and health history screenings before commencing employment. In addition, we strictly enforce sick policies that require employees suffering from communicable illnesses to stay home from work until they have written clearance by a physician to return and have received supervisor approval.
Employees who have traveled to a country with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Level 3 Travel Health Notice are required to self-quarantine for 14 days prior to returning to work.
We are taking the temperature of everyone who walks through our doors, including twice-daily measurements of our team members.
Contactless Check-In and Check-Out
You may check-in and check-out without needing to stop by the front desk. We are now offering curbside check-in. Simply call us when you arrive and we will come out to take your temperature and ask a few screening questions.
Stay in the comfort of your car until we’re ready for you! When you arrive at our office parking lot you must notify us of your arrival through text or call. We will let you know as soon we are ready for you. This will avoid patients waiting in our lounge area.
According to the CDC, the most important steps we all can take to avoid infection from airborne diseases are frequent hand washing with soap & water or hand wash and regular cleansing of highly-used surfaces with disinfectant.
We recommend that all our patients take these basic precautions. Patients must wear a mask when entering and exiting the dental office, as well as when not in treatment.
Payment options can be arranged in advance to allow for contactless exits from appointments.
Provisions for High-Risk Patients & Rotating Rooms
We will be discussing in detail the 65+ year old age group and those medically compromised that are of higher Covid-19 risk. If you have an emergency, you will be taken care of immediately. If you are to have elective treatment and prefer to be seen, we will ask you to sign a document consenting to treatment.
We have dedicated office hours at a first-come-first-serve basis for seniors and for those with other risk factors – just call ahead and express that you want to be first in the day and we will ensure that you are the only one in the office that morning. Also, we are opening up some hours on Fridays to serve our senior and at-risk patients. We want you to be safe!
We have implemented extended interval times between patients; appointments will be managed to allow social distancing between patients. We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
We have implemented extended interval times between patients; appointments will be managed to allow social distancing between patients. We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
Lastly, we have multiple operatories (8 total) and we are maximizing the usage of each and every one by rotating which operatory is being used for any given patient(s). For example, your operatory will likely have not had another patient in it for 1-2 hours before your appointment, which is adequate time for sterilization and disinfection.
Dental Procedures & Aerosol Creation
All patients will pre-rinse with a 1.5% hydrogen peroxide solution, which is safe for patients and has been clinically shown to be most effective against COVID-19. During routine teeth cleanings, our staff frequently uses what is called a prophy jet and cavitron instrument.
These instruments use water and create an aerosol spray. The aerosol continues to be an area of research as it relates to Covid-19 and infection control, but at this time we need to take it seriously. The best practice right now is to limit and effectively remove the aerosols that are created in the office.
To that point, we have increased the vacuum capacity of our suction units to allow the hygienists more efficient aerosol removal. You will also notice shields with additional evacuation that will be used over your head area when these instruments are used. The dental drill also creates an aerosol.
We will be implementing measures to reduce this by shielding areas of your mouth and most importantly our capable dental assistants will be at the point of contact with their high speed evacuation to help remove the generated aerosols. We will be limiting polishing, prophy jet and use of the cavitron in your cleaning visit throughout the coming months.
Common Area Disinfecting
As a result of the current coronavirus concern, we have taken added precautions in the common areas. All magazines and pamphlets have been removed, as well as the coffee station. Lobby surfaces and patient restrooms are disinfected every 30 minutes.
This includes a thorough wipe down of all hard surfaces, such as door handles, door knobs, tables, chairs and front office counters with Cavicide, a CDC- approved commercial sterilization agent.
In addition, the area is sprayed with disinfectant, and hand sanitizer is available to all patients in the lobby and back office area.
HEPA air filters have also been installed to help better filter the air in the office. Sneeze-guards and droplet barriers at the front desk have been installed and hand sanitizer is readily available.
Our office is here to answer questions and help with your oral health needs. Everyone’s comfort level varies with this virus. We feel safe working with you in our office and look forward to seeing you when you are ready.