COVID-19 Update 5/7/2020
To our Patients and Parents:
We miss you! We miss our patients and our work family, and we miss working on your beautiful smile!
As the Governor begins lifting the restrictions on dental offices around the state, we are excited to get back to
work! Please know that we will be contacting you to schedule your appointment. PLEASE have patience with
us as we move in a deliberate manner to accommodate the new way of operating under the new rules put forth by
the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Board of Dentistry. We have many new procedures that
we must implement to comply with new industry recommendations in the era of COVID-19. This includes a
reduction in the number of patients we see per day, which will mean that it will take some time to get everyone
scheduled. However, we are excited to announce that Dr. Mark Kauppi will be working with Dr. Overby during
this time to help us see patients, which will help increase available appointments.
We will ask the following of you:
1. Please do NOT keep an appointment if you have any flu-like symptoms, including a fever or cough. Also, do not keep an appointment if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the last 14 days.
2. Only the patient and one guardian should attend an appointment. The patient will have a health screening and may have their temperature taken. If the health screening indicates any symptoms, we will reschedule that day’s appointment.
3. Only the patient and staff should enter the clinic area, unless the patient needs to be accompanied by a guardian for a special reason. That guardian will be required to wear PPE.
4. If you have a mask of any sort, please wear it into the clinic for your appointment.
Our additional precautions:
1. As a regulated health care facility, we already follow CDC Infection Control protocols. However, we are implementing additional infection control measures and industry recommendations during this pandemic period.
2. You will notice that we have removed materials from the lobby such as coffee stations and children’s toys, and moved the furniture to keep distance.
3. We have additional, heightened PPE and disinfection protocols during this time.
4. We have temporarily removed the brushing station, so you may prefer to brush at home before your appointment.
5. Our front desk area has temporary glass barriers, and our check-in computer and game iPads are temporarily removed.
6. All staff will have their own health screening and temperature checks daily, and no one is permitted to work if they are feeling ill.
7. We have installed UV purifiers in our HVAC systems.
If you have been wearing elastics: we will ask that you now discontinue wearing the elastics until we evaluate you at your next appointment.
If you had an appointment to get your braces off that was canceled due to the shut-down: Your first appointment back in the office will be to evaluate your current status, make any adjustments as necessary, and determine if your next appointment will be to get your braces off. We know that you may be disappointed to not get them off immediately, but we also want to make sure that your smile is just right before taking the braces off. If you are ready to get the braces off, we will schedule you back asap to do so.
Lastly, if the cases of COVID-19 were to surge in the state, we may be required shut down again. So, we want everyone to do their part to practice good hand-hygiene, stay home if you feel ill, and cover your cough.
We are looking forward to seeing you again, and we will be contacting you soon!
