COVID Precautions

Dear Parents,

Shady Grove Pediatric Dentistry opened its doors in June 2020, just a few months into the COVID pandemic. Due to the timing, we took every precaution right from Day 1, and our commitment to safety has not faltered. Regardless of which variant may be circulating in our communities, you can rest assured that our team takes everybody's wellbeing seriously, and we adhere strictly to all guidelines and protocols. All members of our team have been vaccinated and have received or will receive booster shots, as appropriate.

We fully understand that life since March 2020 has been difficult in many ways for most of us. Parents have suddenly had to provide “school at home”, often while simultaneously managing work obligations; teachers have had to drastically alter the way they educate, perhaps while having young children at home themselves. There have been layoffs and furloughs, and the cost of everything seems to be steadily increasing. We all did our best to stay away from family, friends, and loved ones to contain the spread, and now, more than 2 years later, things are sadly still not fully "back to normal". While we are used to wearing masks for our work, and we put on our PPE (personal protective equipment) using universal precautions, regardless of the status of the pandemic, it is rather unfortunate that we have yet to see what the parents of the cute children in our practice look like.

We understand that cleanliness and sanitation are on everyone’s mind. Our top priority is to ensure the health, safety, and comfort of each patient and team member who walks through our doors. We adhere to the sanitation and infection prevention standards set forth by OSHA, the ADA, and the CDC. We want to assure you that we have taken the challenge of providing a safe dental office very seriously. We have implemented a robust risk abatement protocol to protect our patients and ourselves, and to do our part in minimizing the spread of COVID-19.

Our practice is also taking extra steps to ensure that social distancing regulations are respected within our office. 

Here’s what you can expect: 

• Separate rooms with closed doors (rather than partial dividers or an open floor plan, like many other pediatric dental offices) for safety and privacy. A spacious open area is available for families with multiple children, so everyone can stay together.
• METICULOUS disinfection protocol and sterilization system. Since we are a new office (we opened in June 2020), all of our equipment is also new and state-of-the-art.
• Medical grade air purifiers with HEPA-13 filters
• High-volume suction used for all procedural dentistry (much of the time with a custom-fitting intraoral suction device), which helps reduce aerosols by up to 98%
• A schedule built around patient needs and safety; not profit and production. We even have a few select appointment slots where your family will be the only family in the clinical area.
• We are a modern “paperless” office and will also be as “contact-less” as possible. All forms (patient info, health history, insurance, etc) will be required to be filled out electronically prior to arrival. All consent forms or anything else that requires signing will be sent directly to your personal smartphone and completed in that manner. Payments can also be made via a text-to-pay method.
• All patients and parents will be given hand sanitizer to use upon arrival. Hand washing in lieu of, or in addition to, use of hand sanitizer is also available. Our own team members will be following a diligent hand hygiene protocol at all times.
• Temperature checks for all team members immediately upon entry into the office. As of summer 2022, we are no longer taking temperatures on our patients and parents.
• Face masks are still required to be worn to be compliant with CDC guidance for health care settings. Please refrain from bringing any additional family members.  We try to keep our visits short and sweet. Any issue that requires a lengthy conversation should be brought to our attention prior to the appointment, so that we keep the actual in-person visit focused on delivery of clinical care.
• REQUIRED ON-TIME ARRIVAL FOR ALL PATIENTS. A staggered appointment model is being followed to ensure safety for your family, as well as our other patients and families. We won't have much wiggle room for tardiness and are very strict with our attendance policy. Appointments that are not kept or cancelled without proper notice are subject to a $75 fee to reschedule or may lead to complete dismissal from our office, depending on the specifics on each situation.
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At Shady Grove Pediatric Dentistry, we want our patients to become part of our extended family. All of these protocols have been carefully mapped out with safety in mind.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding while we do our best to navigate this “new reality”. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 240.848.7074 or send a message to smile@shadygrovepediatricdentistry.com.

*On a personal note, Dr. Ball received her COVID vaccine in early 2021 and has made both videos available for public viewing. She received her booster in November 2021. The rest of the team has also been fully vaccinated.

Sincerely,  

Dr. Bana Ball & your Shady Grove Pediatric Dentistry Team