At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020 we made the difficult decision to close our office. At that time it was simply not safe to treat our patients. After weeks of preparation and reorganization we re-opened for routine patient care on May 11, 2020.
While we were closed, our team worked together behind the scenes to prepare a safe environment for our patients and ourselves. We had regular virtual office meetings, developed strategies to ensure everyone's safety and adapted our office space appropriately. As president of the Rhode Island Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Greg collaborated with his colleagues on the local and national level to develop a unified approach and determine what is best for our patients and our profession.
By following the guidelines of the RI Department of Health, American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control we have established strict safety protocols that we continue to employ everyday, including:
- Masks are optional in our office but are recommended for those who are immunocompromised
- Increased daily attention to disinfection of communly touched surfaces
- Established a contact-free check-in system
- Added multiple air purification units with HEPA-13 filtration to maintain clean air
- Using a private room with air purification for aerosol-generating procedures
- Use of additional personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks, face shields and protective clinical jackets
- Increased frequency of our professional commercial cleaning service
Four years later we have not let our guard down. We have created an atmosphere of health and well-being within our office. This continues to be an unprecedented time which requires careful attention to keep everyone safe. Our team believes that we have created an environment that protects everyone and we are confident that our stringent safety measures are the most comprehensive possible and we stay up-to-date to evolve this policies as needed or recommended.
If you have any questions or concerns regardng any of these protocols please feel free to call us at any time. We know that you have other options for your orthodontic provider, so please accept our most sincere appreciation and gratitude for your confidence in us and for being part of the Pezza Ortho family.
