New COVID-19 Protocols and Hours for Gwinnett Family Dental Care
Our practice is open for all appointments and emergency patient care with modified office hours during the pandemic for the following hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Friday and Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm; Closed on Wednesday.
As always, for patients with a dental emergency, we may be reached through our Emergency Answering Service outside of those hours by calling our office phone number.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things about our day-to-day lives, including dental appointments. Your health and safety are important to us, and we share your concerns during these difficult times. We have reviewed the expert guidance and research from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the ADA (American Dental Association) to make sure we are taking every measure to keep patients and staff safe, while still providing the same excellent customer care. Here’s what you may now expect when visiting our office:
Before your appointment:
- To make sure patients are healthy, our team may call you to ask you some health-related questions before your scheduled visit.
- To limit the number of patients in the waiting room, you may be asked to wait outside the office or in your car until the team is ready for you.
- To help maintain social distancing guidelines, you will be asked to come to your office appointment alone. We make exceptions with appointments for children and for those individuals who require assistance. In those cases, one parent/guardian/health care worker may accompany the patient into the office for their appointment.
- Additional cleaning and sanitation measures will be done after each patient leaves to prepare the office space for you. Each treatment area will be left unoccupied for at least 15 minutes between patients, and then cleaned with disinfectant cleaners.
At your appointment:
- You will be asked to bring, and wear, a mask to your appointment. Masks should be worn at all times when in the office, except when undergoing dental treatment.
- A member of our team will take your temperature using a non-touch infra-red thermometer, and the health-related questions will be repeated. All results will be kept confidential.
- All staff and doctors undergo the same health screening each morning prior to the opening of the office, and must remain home should they have any symptoms of COVID-19.
- We have removed high-touch items, such as magazines and children’s toys from our waiting rooms.
- Your dental team will wear additional PPE (personal protective equipment) during your visit, which may consist of face masks, plastic face shields, goggles, gloves, surgical caps, and surgical gowns. We are still wearing the same friendly smiles under all that PPE!
- Schedule your next appointment at Check-out. Your oral health is connected to your overall health, so one of the many ways you can stay healthy during these times is to keep up with you regular dental care. We are here for you.
After your appointment:
- If you start to experience symptoms of COVID-19 within 1 week after your appointment, call the office to alert us, so we may conduct contact tracing.
We want you to feel comfortable when you come to our office for your appointment. Please reach out to us, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about our new safety measures. See you soon!
Sincerely, Gwinnett Family Dental Care