Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Issaquah Premier Dental's Response

Special Safety Measures at Issaquah Premier Dental

Since early March, the number of confirmed cases has increased in the United States including the Washington state and Seattle area. In order to ensure the safety of our patients and staff members, Issaquah Premier Dental was temporarily closed from March 18, 2020 to May, 17, 2020. We are now seeing patients with rigorous health and safety measures in place.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies' recommendations. In addition to these recommendations, we are also employing additional measures to further minimize risk of exposure.

•Pre-screen all patients with a questionnaire to defer treatment for high-risk patients following the WHO protocol
•Take the body temperature of staff and patients to check for fever
•Frequently disinfect high traffic surfaces like door handles in addition to our above-standard waiting room, operating room and equipment disinfection protocols.
•Use of rubber dams when possible to reduce cross-contamination from saliva
•Ask patients to pre-rinse and post-rinse with a mouthwash containing oxidative agents that can reduce the spread of the virus
•Accommodate patients who would like to cancel or reschedule
•Waive fees for short-notice appointment cancellations
•Ask staff who are unwell to stay home

Additional measure implemented effective May 18, 2020:

•Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You'll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
•We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
•You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines and coffee station, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
•Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you're offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
•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.

Vaccine Update – March 11, 2021:

•All of our clinical staff have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination
•Despite being fully vaccinated we will continue to adhere to strict safety measures as before
•All staff and patients are still required to wear masks as before

New Appointment Procedure

Before your appointment

We will be requiring every patient to fill out a health screening/COVID-19 consent. We ask that you please complete the document at least 3 days in advance or earlier. If we do not receive the questionnaires 3 days prior to your appointment, we will have to reschedule your appointment.

NOTE: If you are feeling unwell, have fever or respiratory symptoms, we ask that you cancel your appointment and call your doctor for testing. If you have recently traveled or some symptoms are present, we ask for you to wait two weeks before scheduling your appointment.

•We will offer to make payment arrangements in advance or keep a credit card on file for contactless payment and exit after your appointment. Touchless Apple Pay/Android Pay are also available. To prevent fraud, only use the secure link sent to you from our system for payment.
•Please honor our NO VISITOR policy. In an effort to reduce traffic to the office, we ask that you come to your appointment alone. If assistance is required, we ask that you bring only ONE companion.
•Please bring a face covering or face mask to your appointment to help conserve Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our team of which there is currently a short supply.
•If needed, please bring your own blanket, or additional layers of clothing and headphones to keep you comfortable during your appointment. We are temporarily unable to offer these amenities to you due to difficulty in disinfection. We will provide safety glasses for you, or you can bring your own sunglasses if you prefer.

On the day of your appointment

•We ask that you please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. Due to the enhanced measures that we are employing for disinfection and sterilization, it is critical that we stay on time to avoid delays for our other patients. We will not be able to see you if you are more than 15 minutes late and will incur a broken appointment fee as stated in our financial policy.
•To minimize your exposure in the waiting room, please stay in your car once you arrive in the parking lot and call the office at 425-654-8601 to inform us of your arrival.
•We will review the health screening questionnaires with you and ask that you inform us of any changes.
•Please wear your face covering or face mask before entering the office. If you do not have a mask, you will be given one upon checking in. Please wear your mask at all times while inside the office until you are instructed to remove it by a team member.
•Upon entering the office, you will notice that sneeze guards or droplet barriers have been installed at the reception counter.
•Your temperature will be taken with a contactless thermometer.
•Hand sanitizer will be located on by the beverage area for you to use upon check-in. Please avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and/or face.
•A pulse oximeter will be used to check your respiratory status.
•We will ask you to use a mouth rinse to reduce viral load in the saliva prior to the start of the procedure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Should I go to my dentist appointment?

If you are feeling well and have not had any of the coronavirus symptoms in the past 2-3 weeks you can go to your dentist appointment. However, you should postpone your appointment if you feeling unwell and have any of the COVID-19 symptoms.

What constitutes an emergency or urgent dental care during the coronavirus outbreak?

•If you have trauma due to an accident, resulting in the loss of a tooth, laceration of the gum, loose tooth.
•If you have an abscess, swelling that might compromise the airways and breathing.
•If you have a toothache that cannot be managed by regular pain killers
•If you have severe gum swelling that cannot be managed by rinsing with saltwater and good oral hygiene.
•If you have a partially loose dental appliance that you cannot remove but if it comes off u may swallow it and block the airway.
•If the temporary prosthesis comes loose that may cause pain, irritation on the gum.

What are the symptoms of the coronavirus (COVID-19)?

The main symptoms for COVID-19 are fever, cough, difficulty breathing, pneumonia in both lungs. You can also have less common symptoms like aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea.

How does coronavirus spread?

Human coronaviruses cause infections of the nose, throat and lungs. They are most commonly spread from an infected person through:

•Respiratory droplets generated when you cough or sneeze
•Close, prolonged personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
•Touching something with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands

How to prevent coronavirus from spreading?

•Social distancing is one of the most effective ways of mitigating the spread of a high contagious illness such as COVID-19. Try to stay home as much as possible and only go out if it absolutely necessary such as buying food or other essentials.
•Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds if soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
•Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community.