COVID-19 Response

Last Updated On: October 11, 2020

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How Our Office is Keeping you Safe

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: our commitment to your safety. Infection control has 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. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Rethinking Sterilization Policy & Procedures

Our office has developed specific policies and procedures based on guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, Arkansas Department of Health, and The American Dental Association. These guidelines are meant to protect to both protect our staff and patients. Some of the changes worth mentioning are:

We have upgraded our PPE to include N-95 masks, KN-95 masks
Face shields to protect from aerosols
Changing protective jackets/gowns between each patient where aerosols were likely generated
Decreasing the volume of patients seen to minimize person to person interactions
Digitizing patient paperwork and consent forms
Updating specific systems for disinfection of rooms to minimize cross contaminations and exposure to staff

Going Above and Beyond

Besides the recommendations from the health experts, we have added additional measures measures to keep our staff and patients safe. Our office has invested in technologies which can help make a significant difference in reducing the chances of exposure to COVID-19. These investements in our safety are vital to our business and welfare of our patients.

Currently our regular waiting room is closed. We have invested in software to help us minimize patient to patient and patient to staff interactions. For example, we are using digital forms that can be filled out before coming to the office. We are also using the technology to help us quickly and more effectively communicate with patients the steps of the appointment process in what we call our virtual waiting room.

HOCL

Our office has invested in several electrolysis systems to produce HOCL (Hypochlorous Acid). We use HOCL on top of our regular disinfectants in many different ways (spray, aerosolized) in order to safely disinfect our office. These systems are EPA approved for combatting the COVID-19 virus.

HOCL is nontoxic to humans. In nature, HOCL is made by our very own white blood cells to help destroy pathogens. Although HOCL is a weak acid (similar to citrus juice) it is a very powerful oxidant that is effective against invading bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

Air Purifiers

Each room has its own medical grade true HEPA air filter (MERV17). These filters can remove 99.99% of airborne particulates at 0.3 microns, 98.79% at 0.1 microns and 97.34% at 0.03 microns (30 nanometers). The higher HEPA filter efficiency combined with the high CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) makes this a very effective way to remove airborn particles generated by our procedures. For more information about the sciece of these filters see this link.

Face Shields

We have invested in special anti fog face shields which provide ample room for our lights and loupe magnifying glasses. These face sheilds allow our staff stay safe while allowing us to comfortably perform our procedures.

Cold Misters

In our dental office, ellimination of aerosols is our main concern. When a patient leaves, our equipement in the rooms is sprayed down and the room sits for the recomended time to allow any aerosols to settle. We go further with this process, by investing in cold aerosolizers and mist the air with HOCL, a non toxic, EPA registered disinfectant and sanitizer. This helps to ensure that any pathogens in the air are neutralized.