August 29, 2020
To our wonderful patients and their families,
Since Allegheny county re-opened in June, things have been moving fast at Terrific Teeth! I wanted to take a minute to update you on our progress as an office and how things have changed as it relates to COVID-19:
(1) Office update: as many of you know who have recently visited with us, a few things have changed:
a. We continue to strictly follow COVID-19 related guidelines established by the CDC, OSHA, State of PA and adopted for clinical dentistry by the ADA. Some of those things include but are not limited to: have patients call from the parking lot when they arrive so we can limit the number of people in the waiting room and maintain social distancing (or have people wait in their cars); limit the number of patients we schedule; limit the number of parents/guardians who attend an appointment; limit aerosolizing procedures; installed HEPA air purifiers in the common areas & treatment areas; adopted a new patient flow for check-in and check-out.
b. Before one’s appointment, we send a COVID-19 questionnaire to every patient and take everyone’s temperature prior to being seen, as well as wear masks, hand sanitization and hydrogen peroxide mouth rinse (for our patients that are old enough and able to do so). Additionally, we are in the process of going paperless and presently have 2 of our forms fully automated. We hope to soon have ALL of our forms automated and can eliminate the need to use paper altogether.
(2) Patient update: in each month since re-opening, we have received an encouraging number of new patients – many of whom come to us through word-of-mouth referrals. Others find us online and are impressed with our reviews. For all our patients who have recommended us either formally through writing a review or informally via word-of-mouth, we are so grateful for your support.
(3) Employee update: On the front desk, Diane recently celebrated her 1-year anniversary with us. Many of you have probably spoken with or met my husband, Jason, who has been helping us over the last few months. We are looking for another teammate (patient care coordinator) to join us up front, so please spread the word! On the clinical side, my assistant Denise joined us in March right before the shutdown, and our hygienists, Maria and Tiffany, both joined us after the shutdown. I had the pleasure of working with both Denise and Maria for about 5 years prior to joining Terrific Teeth and many of you may remember Tiffany as a friendly face, as she previously worked for Dr. Hanna. The entire team has been tremendous in helping to create a safe and effective patient experience – I am so proud of them and thankful to have them on our team!
(4) Some of you have expressed concerns about bringing your children to the dentist given the current COVID-19 circumstances. We respect your opinions and decisions and simply ask that if you cancel an appointment, you provide us adequate notice (at least 48 hours). As a dental professional, I believe that delaying important preventative appointments will, for some, have negative consequences. Delaying visits to the dentist, combined with children spending more time at home, and invariably snacking more, has led to a marked increase in cavities over the last few months. This can have negative knock-on effects if we allow this to persist.
(5) If you haven’t visited us recently, and have an appointment scheduled in the upcoming months please remember the following:
a. Be on the lookout for a COVID-19 questionnaire in your email;
b. Return to us any necessary paperwork (i.e. the COVID-19 questionnaire) at least 24 hours before the appointment;
c. Call us from the parking lot when you arrive, and wait for us to direct you;
d. Limit the number of parents/guardians to (1) adult per family;
e. Anyone over the age of 2 please wear a mask, if your child is unable please let us know prior.
f. If anyone has any questions or concerns related to our COVID-19 protocols, please feel free to call in advance and we are more than happy to discuss with you.
Many thanks for your continued support. We are grateful you chose Terrific Teeth for your family’s pediatric dental care needs. We look forward to seeing you at your next appointment.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kelly Lewis and the entire Terrific Teeth Team