SKYLINE FAMILY DENTAL
Statement on Corona virus
3/15/2020
6:00 pm

Due to an unprecedented response by the world governments and World Health Organization to a never before seen virus, we have taken equally unprecedented measures to ensure that you are safe when in our care, and the team at SKYLINEFAMILY DENTAL stays healthy and can continue to care for our community. This goes beyond our already stringent infection control procedures. You will find that when you come to the office, there will be no magazines out on the table, and the door knobs may be damp due to frequent cleaning. This is in an effort to not only reduce the spread of germs between patients, but also due to our efforts at the office to maintain a very clean environment.

For all appointments, we will be asking you to use an oral rinse before we begin. This has been proven to reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses while we are working on you. We will also discontinue use of ultrasonic scalers when you get your teeth cleaned due to the aerosols that are created during its use.

You will also find our office a little breezy as we are keeping doors and windows open to keep a flow of fresh air throughout the facility. We have always employed air cleaners with UVC light to reduce spread of viruses and bacteria. These will be moved to the treatment rooms and ran continuously to keep the air your breath as clean as possible.

But we need your help! Please come to the office alone if possible. If you get there early, we may have you wait in your car until we are ready to seat you in your treatment room. We want you to be seen on an individual basis. Because we are a low volume, 1:1 style office, our cross contamination risk is already low, but we would like to minimize risk where we can. If you have a cough or chest tightness, a fever or body aches — stay home! It’s no problem, we will just reschedule your appointment for 3 weeks later and ensure you are healthy. If you are over the age of 60, are immunocompromised or have a respiratory condition such as COPD, please consider how important it is for you to come to the dental office for your appointment, or to go anywhere for that matter. If you have been out of the country or in any of the hot bed areas for the virus within the last two weeks, such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle please reschedule your appointment.

The advice to stay home for the next two weeks is to minimize the spread of the virus. As soon as the weather begins to warm, the virus is expected to be reduced in its spread. I am attaching some recommendations from the CDC in case you haven’t seen them or want to review them.

I will keep you posted on our efforts or any changes to our protocols, policies or hours via Facebook, email and of course, phone calls. Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any concerns. Submit an form and our team member will be able to answer your questions as well.

GOOD INFORMATION:

1. If you have a runny nose or a wet cough, you have a common cold.
2. Corona virus is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. The virus cannot stand warm temperatures, 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit, so washing your hands with warm water and drinking warm tea and coffee is a good thing.
4. The virus can live on metal and fabric surfaces for up to 12 hours so disinfecting surfaces and washing hands frequently is recommended. Also, cough into your elbow not your hand.
5. Gargling with warm salt water is also a way to kill viruses as well as drinking warm fluids.

Symptoms of Corona virus

1. While symptoms may differ, for most, the first symptom is a sore throat lasting 3-4 days. Take zinc products such as Cold-Eze. The virus hates zinc!
2. The virus then spreads to the lungs and causes pneumonia. This takes 5-6 days.
3. With the pneumonia comes a high fever and difficulty breathing.
4. The nasal congestion will feel severe, not like a normal cold.
5. Get tested at the first sign of symptoms, then, stay quarantined and on products rich in zinc, drink plenty of warm fluids and plenty of water. High doses of vitamin C, Elderberry syrup and rest have been reported to help with respiratory illnesses. As there is no cure for this virus or a vaccine, seeking medical support is advised at the first indication of onset.