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COVID-19 Update
 

 

COVID-19 Updates for Our Valued Patients

Update for Our Valued Paitents – May 4, 2020

We hope this message finds you and your family in good health. We missed you and your family’s smiles! Our community
has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal life and
routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety and health.

Starting May 4th, we will be start reserving appointments for your oral care of periodontal, orthodontic and
endodontic treatment. If you are existing patients and haven’t had any future appointment, please call us as soon as
possible. You can also go to our website to request your appointments. We accept new patient appointment as well for
your friends and family!

Strict infection control has always been a top priority for our practices, and you may have seen this during your
visits to our offices. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and
comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep you, your
family and our team members safe.

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

You may see some interim changes for at least the next couple months when it is time for your next appointment. Our
goal is to ensure your ultimate safety during your visit with us:

Prior to your appointment-One week to 48 Hours prior
  1. Our team will direct you to fill out paperwork and consents through email or website. Please fill, review and sign
    all the documents as much as you can and email back to us preferably 48 hours prior to your appointments.
  2. Our team will call to collect your treatment fee and discuss any financial arrangement 48 hours prior to your
    appointment.
  3. Please reschedule your appointments should you say yes to one of the screening questions:
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat or tightness in chest
  • Loss of smell
  • Contact with a person who has COVID-19
  • Before leaving your house to the appointment:

    1. Brush and floss your teeth
    2. Bring a facemask

    Arrival at our offices

    1. Stay in your car
    2. Call our office to check in your appointment with your name and appointment time
    3. 6018 Fort Apache Rd: (702)547-9977
      2430 E Harmon Ave: (702)733-0558
      7151 Cascade Valley Ct: (702)233-9988
      2777W Crag Rd: (702)647-8114
    4. Wait for instruction from our team
    5. Put your mask on prior entering to the office. We kindly ask parents and other family members to stay in cars. For
      family members who must accompany a patient- they will also be screened and temperature taken. The family members will
      need to wear masks to stay with patients.

    Our team will check your temperature, screen any sign/symptoms related to Covid-19, direct you to wash your hands and
    rinse with 1.5% Hydrogen Peroxide.

    In the Office

    1. We strongly encourage our patients to wear mask during your stay all the time other than you are in treatment.
    2. We love to welcome you with our big warm smile. At this time, all our team however will have to wear face mask and gloves.
    3. To maintain social distancing, we encourage all non-patients to stay in the car and minimize the amount the people in
      the reception area.
    4. All magazines, toys, water, coffee and refreshment will be removed, since they are difficult to clean and disinfect. We
      are pleased to provide you water bottles upon request.
    5. Appointments will be managed to allow social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer
      options for scheduling your appointment. Sometimes we will have to reschedule your appointments to reinforce the social
      distancing. We know it is annoying, and we truly apologize for the inconvenience.
    6. We strive to be on time for your appointment while allow social distancing between patients. We thank you for being
      patient with us should there is any delay of your appointment.
    7. As much as we want to shake hands and give you a big warm hug, we will do “air high-five” and “air-hug” at this time
    8. For children after orthodontic treatment, one of our team will escort them to the car and report you their treatment
      progress. One of our team will call you immediately to schedule your children’s next appointment.

    Thank you for amazing and patient with us during this challenging time. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward
    to welcoming back you, your friends and family.

    Update for Our Valued Patients – April 6, 2020
    On 4/2/2020, the Nevada Dental Board postponed elective dental procedures until at least April 30, 2020
    Update for Our Valued Patients – March 30, 2020
    In alignment with Governor Sisolak’s direction as set forth in Directive 003 on 3/27/2020, the Nevada Dental Board
    supports the postponement of elective dental procedures until at least April 16, 2020 per the mandate given to all
    essential businesses that they “must adopt COVID-19 risk mitigation measures that reduce the risk of community disease
    spread” in order to continue operating during the Coronavirus pandemic.
    We sincerely apologize for all the patients who were asked to reschedule their non-emergency appointments to a later
    time due to the mandate from the Board.

    • All elective procedures (Periodontics & Orthodontics) have been postponed until April 16th or later.
    • Our Endodontic Department (Root canal specialist, Dr. Vinne Chen) will remain to serve emergency
      patients with severe pain associated with root canal problems.
    • If you have a true dental or orthodontic emergency (pain, swelling, gum infection, broken palatal expander/retainers
      or pokey wire or bracket that truly bothers you) please call our offices.
    • Our offices remain open and phones are answered Mondays to Thursdays from 9 am-4 pm and our specialists are ready and
      available to assist you.
    • Dental emergency patients will be seen in accordance with existing social-distancing, infection control and
      temperature screening protocol established for our offices.
    • New and existing patients with no dental pain are asked to schedule in-office appointments until April 16th or later.
      If you have questions or special requests, you are invited to call our offices and we will be happy to schedule a
      tele-health consultation with one of our doctors or team member.
    We apologize greatly for any inconvenience this may cause, but the health of our patients, staff, and community is
    always our top priority. As healthcare workers, we believe we have an obligation to do our part in slowing the incidence
    of COVID-19. We thank you for being understanding in these difficult times, and we look forward to continuing to provide
    you with world class dental care!
    Update for Our Valued Patients – March 18, 2020
    Following recommendations from the American Dental Association, our offices have postponed elective procedures for the
    next three weeks in response to the spread of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, across the country. The American Dental
    Association did not ask dentists to close the offices. Instead, concentrating on emergency dental care will allow us to
    care for our emergency patients and alleviate the burden that dental emergencies would place on hospital emergency departments.
    It also encourage our non-emergency patients to stay home to help the nation to control the breakout of coronavirus.
    We will continue to follow the direction of The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Department of Homeland Security,
    which have categorized healthcare as a critical infrastructure industry, in addition to the food supply and
    pharmaceutical industries. At Significance Dental Specialists & Orthodontics,
    Dental Implant Center of Nevada, we have a special responsibility to maintain our commitment to patients with dental
    emergencies. You can count on us to be here for you and provide you with frequent updates and recommendations during
    these unprecedented times. It’s critical that we all do our part to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

    Here’s What We’re Doing Differently:

    • All elective procedures (Periodontics & Orthodontics) have been postponed until April 6th or later.
    • Our Endodontic Department (Root canal specialist, Dr. Vinne Chen) will remain to serve emergency patients with severe
      pain associated with root canal problems.
    • If you have a true dental or orthodontic emergency (pain, swelling, gum infection, broken palatal expander/retainers or
      pokey wire or bracket that truly bothers you) please call our offices.
    • Our offices remain open and phones are answered Mondays to Thursdays from 9 am-4 pm and our specialists are ready and
      available to assist you.
    • Dental emergency patients will be seen in accordance with existing social-distancing, infection control and temperature
      screening protocol established for our offices.
    • New and existing patients with no dental pain are asked to schedule in-office appointments until April 6th or later.
    If you have questions or special requests, you are invited to call our offices and we will be happy to schedule a
    tele-health consultation with one of our doctors or team member.
    We apologize greatly for any inconvenience this may cause, but the health of our patients, staff, and community is
    always our top priority. As healthcare workers, we believe we have an obligation to do our part in slowing the incidence
    of COVID-19. We thank you for being understanding in these difficult times, and we look forward to continuing to provide
    you with world class dental care.
    Update for Our Valued Patients – March 16, 2020
    These recommendations have now been modified as of March 18, 2020
    The CDC recommends using “social distancing” whenever possible as an effective way of decreasing the likelihood of
    transmitting coronavirus. The agency has updated its definition of social distancing to mean “remaining out of
    congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others
    when possible.” With this advice in mind, we are implementing these new steps in our practice:

    • We will schedule appointments to minimize possible contact with other patients in the waiting room.
    • We are making video conferencing available to some patients who are able to be evaluated via smartphone, tablet or
      laptop computer equipped with a camera and we are actively reaching out to those patients who qualify for a tele-health
      visit with one of our doctors.
    • We will ask patients to arrive on time for their appointments, rather than too early, since that will minimize the
      amount of time they spend in our reception area.
    • We will advise patients to maintain proper social distancing and if they are more comfortable waiting in their car, we
      will offer to call or text them when we are ready to seat the patient for the appointment.
    • We will screen all patients using an infrared forehead thermometer. Any patient with a temperature of 100 degrees or
      above will be rescheduled unless emergency dental or orthodontic pain, swelling or infection is present. These dental
      emergency patients will follow the protocol listed below. These patients will also be advised to call their physician’s
      office.
    • We have removed magazines and paper reading materials from our reception rooms as they are not easy to disinfect.
    We appreciate your patience and thank you for your understanding if some of these new steps might cause a scheduling
    inconvenience or longer wait times that you are accustomed to in one of our clinics. Your safety and comfort remain our
    top priorities.
    If you have questions or special requests, please reach out to us at 702-547-9977.
    Update for Our Valued Patients March 11, 2020
    These recommendations have now been modified as of March 18, 2020
    Just like you, we are closely monitoring new developments regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus). The health and safety of our
    patients and employees is of the utmost importance.
    We are committed to doing everything we can to maintain a safe and comfortable experience when you visit one of our
    offices at Significance Orthodontics.
    Therefore, we’d like to inform you of the clinical infection control guidelines and universal precautions we’ve always
    taken in our offices, since opening our doors in 2005. Because we work in the mouth for a living and in very close
    proximity with our employees, infection control is something we’ve always taken very seriously. We didn’t become the
    leader in our area by maintaining the status quo; you can count on us to be a dental and orthodontic leader in meeting
    the challenge of the coronavirus.

    What We Are Doing Differently.
    We have implemented several new policies and procedures, which follow recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, Significance Dental Specialists have consulted with several leading medical
    providers in Las Vegas in order to stay up-to-date with these leading regional healthcare facilities and their
    recommendations and practices for the safety and comfort of all our patients and employees in the region.

    We are in constant communication with our employees to reinforce our sanitization safety procedures in both
    patient-facing and employee-only areas. We are sanitizing high-traffic public areas at an increased frequency.
    • All employees are wearing face masks during the challenging time to ensure the full protection of the staff and
      patients.
    • Public touch points, such as door handles, check-in stations and knobs are cleaned multiple times daily.
    • Surfaces such as front desk, coffee station counters and reception tables are wiped regularly.
    • In addition to our world-class standards of instrument sterilization, disinfection and clinical cleanliness, we are also
      committed to disinfecting anything regularly affected by the human touch. Door handles, light switches, seating areas,
      trash cans, coffee makers, credit card processors, telephones and every commonly-touched surface will be disinfected
      throughout the day.

    All our clinics have implemented hand washing and sanitizing procedures to take place multiple times for all employees.
    • All employees are instructed each day on correct hand sanitizing procedures.
    • Employees are instructed to wash hands minimally 20 seconds before and after eating and before returning to a work area.
    • Clinical employees are instructed to wash hands minimally 20 seconds before and after every patient appointment.
    • Proper procedures are posted in all employee-only work areas.

    All Significance Dental Specialists & Orthodontic employees are prohibited from reporting to work with a respiratory
    illness that can be transmitted to others.

    For patients who feel unwell, we have detailed protocols developed in partnership with the American Dental Association
    (ADA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

    • Orthodontic patients feeling unwell and scheduled for a routine orthodontic adjustment or evaluation, should call our
      offices to reschedule their appointment to a date at least 14 days from today’s date and when the patient is no longer
      feeling unwell.
    • Orthodontic patients feeling unwell and with a broken appliance or orthodontic wire causing pain, should call our
      offices to arrange for either a teledentistry appointment via FaceTime or Skype with one of our specialists or direct
      seating in a private treatment room, entering through a secondary entrance and bypassing the reception room. The patient
      will be given a facial mask to be worn while entering and leaving the office. The doctor and clinical dental team will
      assess the patient using proper universal precautions in a private room with the parent or guardian.
    • Periodontal and endodontic patients feeling unwell and scheduled for regular procedures (teeth cleaning, exam,x-rays,
      implants, periodontal and root canal treatment) should call our offices to reschedule their appointment to a date at
      least 14 days from today’s date and when the patient is no longer feeling unwell.
    • Periodontal and endodontic patients feeling unwell and with acute dental pain, swelling or infection, should call our
      offices to arrange for direct seating in a private treatment room, entering through a secondary entrance and bypassing
      the reception room. The patient will be given a facial mask to be worn while entering and leaving the office. The doctor
      and clinical dental team will assess the patient using proper universal precautions in a private room with the parent or
      guardian.
    We want you to not only receive exceptional health care but also to enjoy your visit with us. We assure you we will be
    attentive and vigilant so you can receive safe and comfortable dental and orthodontic treatment in our offices. For
    future updates on what we’re doing in health safety, please call our office to talk to one of our smile specialists.
    Dr. Allen Huang & Dr. Victoria Chen