To our valued patients,
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. As you all know, part of Florida’s Shelter-at-Home precautions to contain the spread of COVID-19 included temporarily shutting down dental offices for routine dental procedures. Governor DeSantis has lifted that restriction starting Monday, May 4th. While our team will be back at work this week, mostly thru remote access and videoconferencing, our office will not officially re-open until next Monday, May 11th.
This entire week will be dedicated to education and training on upgraded Infection Control Protocols and Practices, as well as installation and training on an array of new protective equipment we have invested in to ensure your safety, and that of our staff.
For the past 30+ years, dental offices have practiced under strict infection control guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These protocols were put in place decades ago to provide a safe environment for both our patients and our staff. But they were based on and geared towards preventing infection by blood-borne pathogens. The nature of this new pathogen (COVID-19), has required us to revise and improve upon industry-wide infection control protocols and equipment. We have done so with guidance from the CDC and ADA, but also as newly active members of OSAP (Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention), a global organization of clinicians and researchers focused on providing continuing education and training to promote safety in the dental office.
We are now collectively restarting our lives and resuming, with novel precautions, our daily routines and obligations. And we do so with understandable uncertainty and apprehension, in a world that feels forever changed. One thing that has not changed is our wholehearted commitment to your safety.
Our entire team is eagerly looking forward to our official re-opening on May 11th. We will reach out in a separate communication later this week. It will contain the details about the new protocols and equipment we will have in place to ensure your well-being while under our care.
Sincerely,
Drs. Holt, Gutierrez, and Fotek
1515 North Flagler Drive, Suite 301 · West Palm Beach · FL 33401 · Ph. 561-655-1700 Fax: 561-835-0793
12180 South Shore Boulevard, Suite 101 · Wellington, FL 33414 · Ph. 561-792-7084