Posted on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at 2:00pm
Special Interim Information for Our Patients
The reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting our world. The risks of acquiring the virus in our region have been deemed to be low, especially if specific precautions are put in place. This page will provide you with an outline of the precautions we are taking at Uptown for your safety and for the safety of our team.
Due to the strict infection prevention and control procedures that have always been present in our office and additionally our rapid implementation of multiple new policies and protocols mandated by the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan as part of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, our office should be considered a very safe environment.
We are eager to see you again! Please help us embrace a few critical differences in the way we operate by reviewing the details below.
Eligible Patients:
- if you have COVID-19 or are at moderate-risk or high-risk of having COVID-19, all treatment will be refused and/or referred to an appropriate facility
- if you consider yourself as someone with health conditions which would classify you as a vulnerable person to the effects of an infectous disease such as COVID-19, please consider rescheduling your appointment
Critical Pre-Appointment Procedures:
- you will be asked to answer a series of COVID-19 screening questions prior to your visit to our office
- you will be asked to consent to being treated in our office during a pandemic outbreak
- Important -
Mandatory Special Screening and Consent Form
Our online, digital COVID-19 health and history screening form is located below; this secure form also contains the informed consent for treatment at this time as required by our provincial regulatory authority. This form MUST be completed in full and submitted PRIOR to your appointment. We ask that, for the ease of our front-door screening attendant and in the interest of minimizing in-person interactions at our premises, you complete this form at least 30-minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. We suggest that you submit it prior to leaving your home/work for our office.
Other Important Pre-Appointment Information:
- patients must be unaccompanied while in the office (if the patient is a minor, only one parent/guardian may accompany the patient)
- please stay in your car until it is 5 minutes before your appointment time, then approach our front doors where you will be greeted by our screening attendant who will instruct you on how to proceed
- your temperature will be taken and logged at our front door prior to entry
- you may be asked to wear a mask when inside our facility; please consider wearing a basic mask of your own to your appointment if you have your own
- you will be asked to use hand sanitizer at various points within our office, including use immediately upon entry and immediately following chairside treatment
- be assured that any Uptown team members that are sick have been asked to stay home; all employees of Uptown will undergo the same screening procedures as our patients and those possibly accompanying them
Administrative Areas:
- high-touch surfaces within the office will be cleaned/disinfected regularly throughout the day
- you will notice our administrative team wearing additional PPE for their safety and for your safety
- we will work together to maintain as much distance between people as possible with the exception of your clinical treatment team who will operate within 2m of the patient with mandated PPE for mutual protection
- we will direct you as to the requested flow of movement within our facility
Treatment:
- to be abundantly clear, your treatment team (which may include your doctor, your clinical assistant, and potentially an additional clinical assistant) will be rendering care within your 2 meters of personal space
- treatment areas within our office will be slightly different than usual to ensure safe distance between patients and other team members
- only procedures planned prior to the arrival of the patient will be completed during the appointment; unexpected requests or problems cannot be expected to be resolved/managed
- your doctors will use their clinical judgment as to which procedures are safe under available conditions
- you may notice your clinical treatment team wearing different protective clothing
- you will be asked to do a special mouth rinse prior to treatment being rendered
- our courtesy toothbrushes will no longer be available and all brushing/swishing sinks will be decomissioned until further notice
- you may notice an increased use of suction tools
- certain instruments will not be used in our clinic at this time
- procedures such as tooth reshaping and bonding of certain appliances may have to be delayed
- complete removal of orthodontic glue may not be possible at this time
Appointments:
- your next appointment will not be booked at the front desk in-person; instead, a next appointment time will be sent to you within a day of your visit that we ask you to attempt to make work with your schedule
- all payments and paperwork should be managed digitally and not within our office if at all possible
- select procedures will still happen via videoconference; select exchanges (e.g. elastics, select retainers, select aligners) will still happen via curb-side drop-off/pick-up
- walk-in appointments will not be permitted for the foreseeable future
We are here to answer your questions about the pandemic and its management; don’t hesitate to ask us anything!
Please remember to complete the required digital form noted above.
See you soon!
Dr. Devon Anholt | Dr. Brent Yaremko
Our Mission Statement:
Aligning our goals with yours to create the confidence you need to inspire the world around you.
Brace yourself for the possibilities.