Even though the country is slowly reopening, the threat of COVID-19 is still very present. To keep you and other safe while providing excellent dental care, your Bergenfield dentist has established several new COVID-19 safety protocols. You can expect your next dental appointment in COVID-19 to look somewhat different than your visits before the pandemic. Here’s what precautions you’ll be asked to follow, and why they’re necessary even if you don’t feel sick.
What New Protocols Can I Expect at My Next Visit?
To keep you, the other patients, and your dental team safe, you’ll be asked to take several extra steps to ensure no germs are carried into the office, like:
- Wash your hands as soon as you enter the practice: Aside from social distancing, regularly washing your hands is the best way to protect yourself from COVID-19. You’ll be asked to wash your hands right away to prevent bringing in any outside germs.
- Rinse with Perioguard before your treatment: Perioguard is an anti-microbial oral rinse that’s much stronger than any mouthwash you can buy at the store. It has specialized compounds that kill or inactivate germs, bacteria, and viruses. While it hasn’t been tested against COVID-19, reducing the number of dangerous particles in your mouth is a worthwhile precaution.
- Limit how many people you bring with you to your appointment: The welcome room will be limited to three patients or less to accommodate social distancing. We ask that you avoid bringing anyone with you to your appointment such as children or your spouse.
Do I Have to Follow These Extra Precautions If I Don’t Feel Sick?
It may seem a little silly to take so many extra safety steps when you feel perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, as more research is conducted on COVID-19, health experts are finding that a patient may not exhibit symptoms of being sick for 14 days. However, they are still very contagious during this timeframe, even though they feel fine. Even then, many cases of COVID-19 are mild and easy to miss, but can easily be spread to others who may develop serious complications.
Because of the complex nature of the novel coronavirus, it is necessary for everyone to follow all the extra COVID-19 safety protocols, regardless of if they’re feeling unwell or not. After all, a person can easily be sick and contagious for a long period of time without knowing it. These extra precautions are put in place to reduce everyone’s exposure to potentially infectious particles and prevent the spread of germs. The steps you’ll be asked to follow along with all the infection control processes that are happening behind the scenes in your dentist’s practice go a long way in protecting our entire community.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed what your routine dental visits look like, but it hasn’t changed your dentist’s commitment to your wellbeing. If you’re looking for a safe dentist in Bergenfield, you can rest assured that your dentist is taking every precaution to keep you as healthy as possible during your appointment.
About the Practice
At Washington Dental Associates, nothing is more important to us than the wellbeing of our patients, staff, and the community of Bergenfield, NJ. We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the recommendations set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In order to do our part to flatten the coronavirus curve, we will be providing emergency dental care to those who need it in the pandemic. We are taking a variety of precautions to keep the office exceptionally germ free, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you need emergency dental care. We can be reached via our website or at (201) 453-4863.