COVID-19: Keeping Us All Safe
This page is no longer actively updated - please call our office for current COVID Precautions & Controls
![COVID-19 Diagram](files/istock-1213557501-small.jpg)
What to Expect at Millbrae Dental Care
Many of our patients ask us what will be different at Millbrae Dental Care how we have prepared for COVID19. The truth is, a lot of the changes happen behind the scenes. Medical and dental professionals have been dealing with blood-borne, airborne, and saliva-borne illnesses and diseases for decades. While it is not our intention to minimize the severity of COVID19, by training most offices were already prepared for it. Our office has been following the CDC, ADA, and CDA COVID-19 guidelines closely while they develop and evolve, to ensure our entire team, office, equipment, and patients meet or exceed the new standards of care. We are thrilled that you are interested in returning to our office and happy to share with you the precautions and guidelines that are now in place. As always, if you have any specific questions about your appointment please call us; We are happy to help.
Precautions To Keep You Safe: The New Rules
Infection control and safety have 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 is issued. The goal is to make sure that infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
» Our reminder emails will have COVID19 screening questions for you to consider. If you have any symptoms you are asked to notify us and cancel/postpone your appointment.
» All patients and visitors to our office are required to wear a mask.
» Upon arrival at our office, you be asked a series of COVID19 risk questions and we will take your temperature with a contactless thermometer.
» Plexiglass “sneeze guard” shields at the front desk.
» Clean and dirty pen holder at the front in case you need to sign something.
» Hand sanitizer at the front desk that we ask you to use when you enter the office.
» No longer offer magazines, children’s toys, and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
» No longer offer chapstick (but if you ask we can probably find some for you!), hand-sanitizer (as available will be placed at the front desk), and disposable shopping bags will be given one at a time to prevent cross contamination (please ask us).
» Cleaning appointments have been shortened up a bit to allow more time between patients. This will help minimize the number of people in the office.
» We request that you continue to practice social distancing while in the office waiting room
» You will see HEPA filters all over the office humming away filtering the air. Sorry for the added noise.
» HVAC system now has high-intensity UV air scrubbers + MPR 2800 Filters.
» COVID19 Hand washing instructions are in all bathrooms.
» Reminder to wear your mask signs are located about the office.
» All employees go through a daily pre-work temperature check and sign/symptom check.
» Counters are wiped clean after patient contact.
» Most procedures will be done with high volume suction. Even cleaning appointments. We now have an additional vacuum next to your head to remove all potential aerosols. Again, these may be a bit louder than you are used to, but safety is important.
» 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.
Goldendent
® High Volume Mirrors
![HVE Chairside MIRRORS](files/hve_mirrors-copy.jpg)
As soon as the CDC and ADA started talking about the "new dental treatment" protocols we quickly reviewed all areas of our practice with our equipment and safety vendors and worked to install any new solutions that would minimize the health risk to our patients and our team. The first area was high volume mirrors. The doctor and hygienists often use an explorer and a mouth mirror to view all angles of your teeth. While doing patients and providers could be exposed to aerosolized saliva. To minimize this they married the mouth mirror with the already available HVE (High Volume Evacuation) system (vacuum). The result is a brilliantly clear mirror that is constantly pulling a negative pressure in the patient's mouth and removing a high percentage of saliva and aerosol. The photos do not do the system justice. Next time you are in the office please ask the doctor or the hygienist to show you this new system. If they are using the ultrasonic scaler on your teeth they will likely be utilizing the HVE mirror.
Vanguard
® Chairside Vacuum
The next time you have your teeth cleaned and the provider is using the ultra-sonic scaler you will likely hear and see our new high volume chair side vacuum system. We use the Vanguard Gold high suction system that moved approximately 100CFM air at about 53db. So it is fairly quiet but high volume. This pulls air and thus aerosolized fluid out of the patient's mouth and into the HEPA filters/UV Lights; Safely away from the patinet's and the provider. I realize this can be a bit overwhelming to patients who are used to the quiet, relaxing environment in our office. We do apologize for the additional noise but feel the added safety is well worth it.
UV Air Scrubber Advanced
® Though you will not see this UV air scrubber in our office since it is hidden in the heating and air-conditioning system, it is working 24 hours a day. As the air in our office is recirculated through our heating and cooling system it is pushed through a high-density, near HEPA filter before re-entering the ducts.
Once in the ducts, it is forced by this high intensity UV light. UV light is known to kill bacteria and viruses. We never shut this UV light off unless opening it for service, and we check daily to make sure it is operating while we are in the office. Just one more of the many COVID-19 related additions in our office.
MedifyAir
® High Volume HEPA Filters
The latest addition to our clean office is the high volume HEPA filters. You will find a few of them in strategically located areas of the office. The philosophy is to pull air, that could contain aerosolized saliva, bacteria, and or viruses away from patients and providers and push it through a high-efficiency medical-grade HEPA filter.
We then redirect this filtered air towards the central heating and air-conditioning cold air return duct which has a second stage near HEPA filter attached to it. Once this air is pulled through the second stage filter, it is exposed to a high-intensity UV light that kills 99%+ of all bacteria and viruses as it flows by. Finally, the air is forced back into the office, clean and ready to breathe. These small footprint filters can "scrub" our entire office air supply four times per hour.
CaviWipes
® Disinfectant and Cleaner
CaviWipes have been around a long time. They are tested and proven to kill bacteria and viruses within three to five minutes after contact. CaviWipes are above and beyond industry standards for cleaning and sterilizing dental chairs, equipment, handpicks, and dental chairs.
Once we have removed all the used dental instruments, tools, supplies, and the required chair and equipment protective supplies, we wipe all exposed surfaces down with CaviWipes. We then allow more than five minutes for the CaviWipes to do their job before we re-cover the chair headrest, handles, cameras, etc with protective bags/covers. Again, this is all done "behind the scenes" between patients so that you know the office operator is clean and sterilized before you sit down with the doctor or hygienist.
Sneeze Guards & Hand Sanitizer
No surprise the first thing we did was install sneeze shields at our front desk. While it does make it a bit more difficult to hear one another, especially with our masks on, it gives everyone another level of comfort that we have a physical barrier between us. You'll also find hand sanitizers all about the office that are there for you to use. We ask that you use them when you first enter the office and any other time you would like. We have both gel and mist sanitizers.
We ask that all patients, employees, delivery, labs, friends, and anyone entering the office to wear some kind of face mask. As long as it covers your mouth and nose, and you can comfortably breath in it, please wear it. If you will accompany someone to our office we ask that you not stay in the waiting room unless required for support or guardianship.
Daily Employee COVID Screening and Temperature Check
An essential part of our daily COVID readiness is to make sure each employee does a full self-evaluation of signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Parts of this protocol are a self-survey, a digital temperature check and a signed confirmation of passing.
Though not a perfect screening method, forehead temperature is a strong indicator of viral or bacterial infection. When used in conjunction with risk factor evaluation such as potential exposure, loss of taste or smell, nasal congestion etc, it can be a highly effective method of identifying potentially sick employees and patients. If any of our employees display a high risk factor we ask that they self quarantine for at least fourteen days or until they have a negative test result.
Signs and Symptoms of COVID19
The following are known symptoms of COVID-19. If you feel or experience any of them please call your medical doctor and let us know so we can reschedule your appointment. If you have a dental emergency and have COVID-19 symptoms, please call our office and ask to speak with Dr. Tsai.
» Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
» Fever or chills
» Cough
» Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
» Fatigue
» Muscle or body aches
» Headache
» New loss of taste or smell
» Sore throat
» Congestion or runny nose
» Nausea or vomiting
» Diarrhea
Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:
» Trouble breathing
» Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
» New confusion
» Inability to wake or stay awake
» Bluish lips or face
Help with COVID-19 - Just Ask Us
Still have questions about COVID-19 risks, symptoms, treatment, and how we, at Millbrae Dental Care, are prepared to help? Please give us a call or send us an email. We are happy to review the guidelines and how we have implemented and trained them into our practice. We know these times are difficult for everyone and we are doing our best to reduce the risk and concern around your next appointment. Prefer to defer your treatment until there is a vaccine in place? We understand and fully respect your decision. Just give us a quick call or email us and we'll move your followup notices out to a later date. As our leaders have noted, we are all in this together and we will all get through it together. We wish you and your family the very best of health and look forward to hearing from you.
email or call us: (650)-583-5880
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Dr. Sherry Tsai provides COVID-19 Safe oral surgery services such as dental implants, sleep apnea, TMJ and general dentistry in Millbrae, San Bruno, Burlingame, San Mateo and the Bay Area