CORONAVIRUS

Update 5-18-2020:

Dear current and new patients:

Our practice has re-opened for care and we wanted to let you know all of the new COVID-19 protective measures that we have implemented into our practice for your next visit.

• All proper pre-screening questions and temperature will be taken on arrival to appointment
• Our waiting room is closed as patients will wait in their cars until called in to help with social distancing
• Each operatory has a HEPA air purifier with the technology that captures at least 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.1 microns in size, kills germs and sanitizes the air. We also have hospital grade surface cleaning wipes and air sanitizer spray.  Each restorative operatory will have a minimum of 1 hour between patients to allow for proper sanitizing period to take place.
• We have all the proper PPE including N95 masks, facial shields, scrub hats, eye protective wear and enough lab coats that a clean one is worn by each clinical staff for every patient.  We have an onsite laundry facility to wash and sanitize all scrubs and lab jackets for assurance of these measures.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient safe in our practice.  To make an appointment, please call our office at 919-388-3111.

Thank you for being our patient.  We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark Andrews and Team

 

 

 

 

 

03/20/2020

A message to my patients:

The American Dental Association and the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners have called for all dental offices in North Carolina to postpone all non-emergent dental care for the next two to three weeks. We are continuing to closely monitor the news and professional recommendations on how best to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus. Our office will be closed until at least Monday, March 30, 2020. Based on the latest information, this date may be pushed back further. If you are a patient of record who experiences a true dental emergency that is pain or infection-related, please call me on my cellphone (919-417-1308) so that we can discuss the best way to proceed.

Please be assured that our infection protocol measures are impeccable. Furthermore, our low volume dental office which affords us the necessary time to provide each patient with the most optimal treatment possible, also has the benefit of very rarely ever having more than two patients in the office at any time. We will screen all patients for symptoms of fever and cough, travel to affected geographic areas, and ask them if they have, or think they have been in contact with anyone who has this COVID-19 virus before we see them.

Some simple things to remember:

1) COVID-19 virus patients most likely to suffer the most serious aspects of this disease are 80 years of age and/or have an underlying health condition such as COPD.
2) The vast majority of healthy people below 60 years of age who contract the virus will have no or only mild symptoms and recover fully.
3) If you need to see us for a true emergency situation (pain and/or infection) your risk of exposure to the disease at our office is essentially zero based on the measures we have put in place.
4) Social distancing is primarily aimed at protecting the very old. The parents and grandparents who cared for us when we were young deserve that the younger generations now do our part to see that they remain as safe as possible.
5) Try not to become too alarmed with the “breathless reporting” of news reporters who often dramatize the situation to keep their viewership up.
6) We live in a country with the world’s greatest healthcare system, and the population density here in Cary, NC is far below that in places such as China, Italy, and South Korea.
7) In a relatively short time, this situation will pass and life will return to normal.

Please be assured that I care about each and every one of my patients as if they were members of my own family. We will all get through this situation together.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mark Andrews