How COVID-19 will impact our practice and patient family

We miss you all greatly, and being available for you, our patients, in any way possible, has been our mission throughout this unprecedented time. As our office is now “open” we are moving cautiously, using local data and common sense to guide our process. As always, the HEALTH and SAFETY of our patients and our team are our number one concern!!

If you are CURRENTLY experiencing any adverse dental symptoms, and you have been waiting until we are “open” to contact us now is the time!

If your scheduled appointment has been displaced by the COVID-19 shut down and you have questions or concerns that will not wait for us to reach out to you, please email us at [email protected] The scheduling team will get back to you to discuss your specific situation.

Glaser Dental is unique because we are small by design, and, most of the time, being small is fantastic. However, during unanticipated moments like this, it limits our ability to provide some types of preventative care, promptly. Dr. Glaser has always offered honest treatment recommendations. In that vein, he also wanted to be forthcoming about the current hurdles in our schedule. Open and honest communication is the best practice for our patient relationships. We are working hard to accommodate our awesome patients:)

What have we been up to during COVID -19?

Dr. Glaser and his team have always placed great importance on continuing education and professional development. They do it because the more they know, the better we can treat you. They have been taking advanced classes from The Dawson Academy with an emphasis on dental occlusal disease and TMJ. Courses strengthening their knowledge of our Cone Beam CBCT machine and dental implants have been favorites over the past ten weeks.

What changes have been made:

Dr. Glaser dental has taken some extra steps, including the addition of doors to the exam rooms. He has worked with our contractor to upgrade our HVAC system to increase humidity levels and the increased volume of fresh air intake into the building. The HVAC system now includes UVC lights to sanitize the air as well. Each exam room has an air purifier that “scrubs” the air through a HEPA filter at the rate of 4 entire room changes per hour. Dr. Glaser has invested in Isolite Systems for high volume evacuation of splatter and airborne germs during dental procedures.

Additionally, we will be using a fogging method to sterilize the building. This Ecolox Technology uses fog with HOCI to sanitize the office’s surfaces and air. We are monitoring the health and activities of our entire team with a daily questionnaire and temperature check to keep our patients and co-workers safe. In turn, we are also asking all of our patients to do the same. We have increased the level of paperwork and asked patients to fill out a new COVID questionnaire before visits. We will also be taking temperatures during your COVID screening before entering our building. Our lobby will remain closed for the near future, and we are asking only patients come to their appointments. These “hoops” are a necessary evil during this fight against the virus and controlling its spread – please be patient!

As we have always done, these new systems allow us to reinforce our sterilization and infection controls. As well as implement additional steps to ensure that every patient can have a safe dental experience.

What is NEXT:

We are very excited to get back to doing what we love seeing all of our patients! We are gradually re-opening for elective and hygiene appointments. “Opening” does not mean it will be “normal.” The capacity for appointments and the pace at which we can move has been impacted dramatically by the addition of the necessary safety precautions.

Please be patient with us as we navigate this post-COVID world. We have over 1000 appointments to reschedule, and we never imagined this stay at home order would last as long as it did or affect as many patients as it has.

Our appointment scheduling is on a patient’s immediate need for treatment of their dental disease. Patients in pain and with advanced disease or trauma will always take precedent in the schedule. Those with healthy teeth and gums may have to wait longer than those with active gum disease.

We are encouraging patients who are scheduled for care to consider their unique health profile and determine if they would like to re-appoint or keep their elective visits. The CDC has issued a list of conditions that would cause a patient to have increased risks associated with the virus. Please visit the CDC website to educate yourself on those risks. To protect our most vulnerable patients, we will ask that they reschedule an elective procedure at this time. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html.

If your appointment has been displaced by the COVID-19 shutdown and you have questions or concerns that will not wait for us to reach out to you, please email us at [email protected]. The scheduling team will get back to you to discuss your specific situation.

Also, if you feel like you can’t wait to be seen, we understand. What makes us “different” is the fact we are small by design. Glaser Dental is doctor-owned and operated, and most of the time, being small is fantastic. Still, during a momentous time like this, it also does limit us on just how many patients we can see in a day.

The silver lining of this virus has been the reaffirmation of just how great our team is and how wonderful our patients are! Relationships have strengthened, and for that, we are thankful.

Stay Healthy,

Dr. Tyler Glaser & His Team
Glaser Dental
[email protected]
715-359-4344