Important Information Regarding COVID-19

Dear Patients,

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable.

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.

We wanted to inform you of some of the changes that we are introducing to ensure your safety and the safety of the staff. All of these changes are in accordance with and recommended by the ADA and NJDA to lessen the spread of Covid-19.

• In an effort to minimize your contact with other patients, we will bypass time spent in the waiting room. Instead, we ask that you call us to notify your arrival in our parking lot area. Once an exam room is available, we will call you to enter and will place you directly into a private operatory while avoiding contact with other patients.
• As part of our exam, we will be taking temperatures with a forehead thermometer once you are seated in the operatory prior to continuing with the appointment.
• The staff and I will be wearing some additional personal protective equipment including N95 masks, face shields and disposable gowns.
• To maintain social distancing, we are asking that only the patient will be allowed in the treatment room. If the patient is a minor, the parent/guardian can walk the patient into the office and then return to their car. Please note that we will have an assistant in the room for the entire visit with the doctor. When the visit is complete, we will call you for pick up. As always, you will still be able to get a full report of the details of the visit.
• Furthermore, we realize how difficult the economic and financial impact has been for virtually everyone during this time. We have decided to keep our fees the same. However, the considerable measures we are taking in our commitment to patient safety will impact our scheduling and we kindly ask you to make every effort to keep your appointment to avoid missed appointment fees.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice.

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Mike Ward and Staff