COVID-19 Information

We hope that you and your family remain 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. 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 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 Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA). We follow the activities of these agencies, so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies' recommendations.

 

New Safety Measures:
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. Few changes that you will notice at our office:

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• 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.

• 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.

• You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children's toys, coffee cups, and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect. 

• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you're offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.

• We have installed two Medical Grade Air Purifiers which are rated by the vendors to filter out 0.1-micron particles (Current Pandemic Coronavirus is 0.126 microns). These air purifiers filter and turn over the air in the entire office once every 15-17 minutes. This will help filter any particles that could linger in the air.

• We are using High Speed Suction, when appropriate, during aerosol generating procedures to rapidly clear out any aerosol generated during the procedure.

• Every surface in the office gets cleaned thoroughly throughout the day with medical grade cleaner and disinfectant.

• Increased used of PPE for staff - these include FDA approved KN95 masks, face shields, as well as other protective equipment.

• Dental operatory surfaces and instruments are also thoroughly cleaned after every patient visit, and before bringing in a new patient. In addition to the cleaning that we did even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now doing extra cleaning with viricidal products.

• We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. We will also ask you check in from your car and wait in the car until your appt time. 

• To ensure your safety, please be prepared to wear your own face mask at all times in the office outside of direct treatment.  

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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 206-246-3222 or visit our website at buriensignaturedentistry.com.  

Thank you for trusting us to care for your dental health. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,
Dr.Patel, Dr. Muramatsu, and the Burien Signature Team.