COVID-19 Update

6/1/2020

Dear Valued Patients:

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. Per Governor Whitmer, we are pleased to announce that our office will re-open on June 1st, 2020.

While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.  Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep our patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment that have been made to better protect your health. In addition to the staff wearing additional personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face shields, special facemasks (N95 masks), gowns and hair coverings, we have implemented the following policies to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

  • Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
  • Patients should come alone for appointments (except where necessary for interpreters, guardians of minors, and others needing assistance). It is safest to only have those receiving dental treatment in the dental operatory. 
  • We ask that each patient bring their own facemask/face covering to the dental office and wear it before and after treatment. 
  • Patients are asked to please wait in their car and call the office upon arrival. You will be notified when to come into the office.
  • Upon entry, a staff member will scan your temperature with a touchless thermometer. Patients with a temperature of greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit will not be treated at that time. The patient will be referred to a medical provider for further evaluation. 
  • We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
  • Each patient will also use a pre-procedure mouth rinse before beginning any sort of dental procedure.
  • Due to the increase in staff’s personal protective equipment, the office temperature will likely be cooler than normal. Please consider bringing a light jacket. 
  • Please practice social distancing in the lobby and at the front desk when checking out.
  • Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
  • Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients, allowing greater time in between patients for thorough disinfection and to reduce the number of patients in the office at a given time

The above measures will be posted at the office as well. We are grateful for your understanding and patience with these additional measures to keep you, and every patient, safe in our office.

We understand there are many of you who have fallen behind on routine dental care during our office closure. Please be patient as we work diligently to reschedule a large number of patients all at once. Our goal is to accommodate everyone in a timely manner.

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 248-649-2868.  

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

Sincerely,

Drs. Ellen and Philip O’Niel and the team of O’Niel Family Dentistry