To our dear patients,
We at Alamo Heights Dental have missed taking care of you, and we hope this letter finds you and your family in good health! We appreciate your patience and understanding during the shutdown. 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: Alamo Heights Dental’s unwavering commitment to your health and safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice. Our infection control processes are designed so that when you are in our care, you are in an environment that is safe for both you and our dedicated team of professionals. To that end, Alamo Heights Dental follows the latest infection control guidance issued by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE). We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to — or exceed — these agencies’ recommendations.
We are now ready to reopen our office on a limited basis — limited because of the limited amounts of PPE available now. We will begin by treating those of you with the most urgent issues first. Cleaning appointments will not resume until sufficient supplies of PPE are available. Thank you for your understanding the necessity of this inconvenience; the shortages are real, and the supply chains are beyond our control.
As a result of the current situation, you will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We have made these changes to help protect our patients and staff (as well as all of our families at home)! The new rules are:
· Our office will communicate with you before your visit to ask some screening questions. You will be asked those same questions again when you arrive at the office. Please, don’t come to our office if you think you might be sick! We will be happy to reschedule your appointment.
· You will need to notify us when you arrive in our parking lot. When we are ready to seat you, we will come down to meet you at your car. We will use a touchless forehead scan to take your temperature before you enter the building. You must wear your mask any time you are not receiving treatment. We will ask you to use hand sanitizer when you enter the office. You will then go straight to the treatment room without having to wait in the reception room. Our goal is to practice social distancing by having patients in the treatment rooms and not near others in the reception room!
· We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you and to eliminate having patients in the reception area. Don’t bring the whole family – just the patient(s)! We will limit the number of people in any treatment room to the patient only, or, if treating a minor, just that child and ONE parent. No one else in the reception or treatment rooms please!
· You will find tissues and hand sanitizer located in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed. We will also have disinfecting wipes available throughout the office.
· We know that you will understand that our first priority on reopening will be treating those patients with more urgent needs whom we were not allowed to treat during the shutdown. If you are one of them, thank you for your patience and understanding; if you weren’t one of them, give thanks!
· We recognize that MANY of you had cleaning appointments cancelled. We will do our best to get you in as soon as we possibly can while maintaining a safe environment. Please be patient.
Our team members look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep you healthy and safe. To make an appointment, please call our office at (210) 824-3243, or visit our website at www.alamoheightsdental.com.
We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Alamo Heights Dental Team