***UPDATE JUNE 5, 2020***
As you may be aware, the Province of Ontario, under the current pandemic, has provided guidance which reflects the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #2, released on May 26,2020. In accordance with this directive, dentists in Ontario are currently permitted to provide in-person care for all deferred, non-essential, and elective services, in addition to emergency and urgent care. We encourage you to contact the office in order to help us triage upcoming appointments as we have received the necessary personal protective equipment to perform SOME, but not yet ALL types of dental procedures. Your safety is always our top priority and we are working diligently to provide treatment to our dental family as soon as possible.
*** IMPORTANT UPDATE MAY 29, 2020 ***
Dear Patient/Parents:
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. 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.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and Public Health Ontario. 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 are presently working diligently to make changes to our office, including the collection and implemention of the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to insure a safe environment in this pandemic. We will re-open the office when we have all the office modifications, equipment and staff training in place.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
- Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
- We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
- Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Appointments will be managed to allow for physical distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
- We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 705-726-0433 or visit our website at barriechildrensdentist.ca.
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbours and friends.
Sincerely,
Dr. Greg Westman, Dr. Kyle Shaw and team