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

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 is both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (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.

Information for Your Visit to Our Office:

You may see some changes when it is time for our next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

• Our office will communicate with you before hand 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.
• Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients.
• We will 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 one time.
• Dr. Edland and his clinical staff will be wearing more protective equipment, including face shields, high filtration masks, and gowns. We are doing all these steps to ensure your safety. While we recognize that cost is a significant factor in the delivery of healthcare, due to the mandates placed upon us due to the COVID-19 crisis, we find it necessary to add a fee of $10.00 to each appointment to partially cover the costs associated with infection control. Please understand that if you have dental insurance, this fee may not be covered by your insurance carrier, and your will be responsible for it.

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