The Coronavirus & Your Dental Care

As of 5/1/2020, the Montana Dental Association has allowed us to reopen for dental care. 

Rest assured, that if you do need dental treatment, we always practice strict infection control measures and all CDC guidelines.  Our facility is one of the cleanest places you can visit in Billings.

If you plan on coming to see us, keep the following guidelines in mind:

* Have you traveled outside of the U.S. in the last 15 days?

* Have you had close contact with someone who recently traveled outside of the U.S. or was sick?

* Have you been exposed to anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 2 weeks?

* Do you have any of the following symptoms in the last 15 days:

* Difficulty breathing?

* Fever greater than 100?

* Cough?

If any of the above applies to you, do not come in!  Call us to reschedule your appointment.

Our new safety protocols include:

* Do not bring any other person with you to your appointment (unless you are accompanying a minor).

* Do not wear gloves inside the facility.

* No cell phones will be allowed to be used during your appointment.

* For your safety and the safety of our staff, we are limiting the persons allowed in the operatory to only the patient receiving treatment.

* Parents will need to remain in the lobby if they bring a minor in for treatment.

* Our staff are equipped with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

* We have enhanced our disinfection protocols throughout the office and after every patient visit.

If you have ANY questions about the new guidelines and protocols, please call us before you come to your appointment.

Infection Control

We take Infection control very seriously here and we take actions to prevent the spread of disease. The Centers for Disease Control Prevention has recommendations for dental office infection control. We care about your safety and work hard to prevent the spread of infection. Before you enter the examining room, all surfaces, such as the dental chair, dental light, drawer handles and countertops, have been cleaned and disinfected. We cover some equipment with protective covers, which are replaced after each patient.

Non-disposable items like the dental tools are cleaned and sterilized between patients. Disposable dental tools and needles are never reused. Infection control precautions also require all dental staff involved in patient care to use appropriate protective equipment such as gloves, masks, gowns and eyewear when needed. After each patient, disposable gloves and masks are thrown away. Before seeing the next patient, everyone on the treatment team washes their hands and put on a new pair of gloves.

Your well-being is important to us. That’s why infection control procedures are in place at your dental office.

What about the new coronavirus?

With so many news stories, it’s understandable to be concerned about the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Please know that the precautions your dentist already takes every day to prevent the spread of infection in his or her practice also helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.

If you are ill with flu-like symptoms, you should reschedule your appointment.

If you or someone you are in close contact with have recently traveled to one of the countries with large outbreaks of COVID-19 (China, Italy, Iran, South Korea) or if you have been exposed to someone else who was diagnosed with COVID-19 or who was quarantined as a precaution, wait 14 days until you see your dentist to make sure you have not caught the coronavirus.

If you are healthy, there’s no need to cancel your regularly scheduled dental appointment.

It’s important to know that the majority of people infected with the coronavirus experience flu-like symptoms and then recover. Most people do not develop serious respiratory complications.

Those most at risk of becoming seriously ill are elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease, among others. Children, thus far, have been largely unaffected.

We are encouraging our team to get vaccinated as soon as the shots become available to them and are committed to providing a safe environment for both our team and our patients.

That said, we’re continuing to wear all necessary PPE and following CDC guidance to minimize the potential for the virus to spread at our practice. Even though our team may have the ability to get vaccinated at this time, that’s not the case for most of our patients. Public health experts are cautioning that even someone who has been vaccinated could still potentially transmit the virus to others. Therefore, we are still operating under the assumption that our patients are not all vaccinated.

That means we will continue to maintain all of the same health and safety protocols that have been in place throughout the pandemic, and we’re updating our efforts whenever the CDC releases new information.

We are trying our best to make it as easy as possible for each member of our team to get access to the vaccine, but their medical information is private so we, unfortunately, can’t disclose anyone’s vaccination status.