Dear Beloved patients of Fifth Avenue Dental Centre:

Covid-19 has been a very difficult time for all of us and with the shut down of Dentistry and our Office, many of you have been forced to wait for dental care. We deeply appreciate your understanding with us while we were closed to do our part to control the spread of Corona Virus and continued patience as we like you navigate to our "New Normal"

We are incredibly happy to announce that we are planning our gradual return to Dentistry by re-opening our office for patient treatment starting tomorrow Tuesday May 26 2020 from 9am-5pm. You may notice in the upcoming days and weeks our hours may vary a little to accommodate new screening guidelines and Public Health protocols we are enacting.

The Health and well being of our patients and staff continue to be our highest priority as we continue to prepare carefully to update our practice procedures and protocols and train all members of our dental team on the ever-changing guidelines as they return to the office. Throughout this entire process we have taken a proactive not reactive approach, paying close attention to BC's Public Health Officer and Our Dental Colleges guidance for what our return to dentistry New Normal will look like. We feel It is imperative we do all we can to minimize the risk of Covid-19 spread for our patients and our team members. Please be assured that we will be taking care of you just as we will be taking care of our own families.

For your peace of mind, and preparation for your future visits we wanted to share with you some of the measures we have or will be implementing to provide a safe dental treatment experience in a safe office environment. These protocols and procedures may change as Public Health guidelines change.

You will receive by email the intake Covid-19 pre-screening forms to review, answer, initial and sign. Please print it out, complete it and send it back to us the evening before your appointment so we can clear you for your appointment. (You can either scan it and send it by email or take a picture of it on your phone and email it to info@fifth-avenue-dental.com) We have enrolled in a brand new app (called X-Care) specifically made to assist offices with Covid-19 protocols including pre-screening. This app will be available for you to connect by clicking on the link and following the prompts starting June 1 2020.

• All employees will be screened daily upon arrival at the office and everyone requesting to enter the office (including venders, and couriers etc.) will also be screened. All records will be kept on file in case we are required to provide them to public Health if requested.
• Please email us, phone us or when X-Care App is available 2-way text us to inform us you have arrived.
• Please wait in your car or outside the office until we have informed you that we are ready for you to come in. We will reply back to you when we are ready for you and to do your in-office Screening upon entry.
• Once informed we are ready for you to enter the office; we will provide you with first hand sanitizer, Mask and gloves (which you can keep and take with you) and will take your temperature reading. If your temperature reading is over 38*C you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.

 Please keep your provided mask and gloves on at all times when you're in common areas such as the reception area.

• You will be escorted or directed by one of our team members to the treatment operatory immediately following the screening process.
• ONLY scheduled patients will be allowed entry into the office ** Parents and other family members will be asked to wait outside whenever possible in order to minimize the number of people in the Office and adhere to Physical Distancing guidelines.
• You will be asked to rinse with a preprocedural rinse containing 1% Hydrogen Peroxide upon entry into the treatment room.
• There will be no physical contact with patients with the exception of rendering treatment. Any patients showing any signs of illness will be asked to reschedule their appointment.
• You will see lots of various added signage around the office including reminding you to practice Physical Distancing, Proper Handwashing Techniques, Corona Virus prevention tips; just to name a few. We ask that you continue to adhere to them and do your part as we will do ours to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
• The public areas including the Restrooms, will be cleaned and disinfected frequently during the day. Touchless amenities have been installed in the bathrooms to reduce the spread of virus and pathogens in the space. Outside of each bathroom is a quality assurance log noting when and by whom the bathrooms were cleaned.
• Wipeable chairs, spaced 6+f apart set up in the waiting area to minimize patient to patient interaction among people from separate households.
• We will suspend our coffee and water service for the time being, and all magazines, papers and pamphlets have been removed from the reception area.
• Our Kids area has been cleared out, unfortunately we are unable to handout any goodies (tooth brushes, floss, prizes for kids etc.) at the end of your appointment at this time.

Your Treatment

• All rooms go through a rigorous disinfection process, in-between patients consistent with current infection control guidelines. You will see each treatment room is isolated with a curtain barrier to prevent any air particles to flow throughout the office. In each of the spaces there is openable windows to allow for outside airflow both in and out of the space throughout the course of the day.
• All operatories are equipted with High Volume suctions which will be used for (but not limited to) all Aerosol generating procedures to catch aerosols at the source.
• Our team will STRICTLY follow guidelines set out by BCDC, Worksafe BC, Public Health, and our dental governing bodies; we have provided each team member (before their return to work) updated training and will continue to do as more information becomes available. Each team member has been trained on correct usage and equipted with all needed PPE (Personal Protective Equipment); Each clinical team member has had either N95 or Kn95 masks fitted by a certified Mask fitter.
• During patient care appropriate masks, face-shields, and gloves will be worn by everyone and changed in-between patients.
• All surfaces that came in contact with the patient will be wiped with disinfectant including the patient chair and the accessory chair where the patient placed their personal items and/or coat hanger.
• Plexi glass and or Sneeze guard barrier installed at front desk area, POS (Point of sale Machine) in plastic to allow it to be wiped down after use, increased payment options provided ahead of time for efficient checkout and to help adhere to Physical distancing guidelines.
• We will no longer be accepting Cash or Cheque payments at this time.
• Receipts will be emailed (if possible) to you following your appointment.
• Due to increased new protocols that have been put in place there may be a time where we cannot take your call. If you call us please leave us a message and your call WILL be returned as quickly as possible.
• We are always looking for feedback and your resourceful ideas. Please consider leaving us either a google, Facebook or recall max review as we are always looking for ways to make your experience with us over the top every time.

We are proceeding with an abundance of caution, but we want you to feel as confident as we do that any visit you make to our office will be a safe one. We, like you, have missed you all and we look very forward to seeing you soon!

Stephanie Reynolds, Office Manager of Fifth Avenue Dental Centre, Dr Monaghan, Dr Zadeh, Zena, Marj, Amanda, Kori, Marie, and Analiza.