Hello,

Dear Patient,

We hope this letter finds you and your family 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. As we reopen we are eagerly waiting to see all of your smiles again! 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 office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) related to COVID-19. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and the staff. For example:

  • 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. Appointments will be rescheduled if the risk of patient transmission of illness. Including COVID-19 has been determined.

  • 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 and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

  • We have increased our efforts to disinfect throughout our office and reception area. Wiping down counter tops, touch screens, and credit card machines after each use and regularly disinfecting bathrooms, furniture, doors and handles.

  • 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 will do our best to allow greater time between patients to allow for more thorough disinfection and to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

  • Increased PPE for all staff who provide dental care including face masks, face shields, and N95/KN95 masks.

  • HEPA air filtration in the treatment rooms where aerosol producing treatments are provided.

  • Plexiglass barrier at the front desk to reduce the spread of germs in an area where social distancing may be compromised.

  • All staff members will be pre-screened daily for COVID-19.

In addition to our efforts and in compliance with Pennsylvania State orders, we ask for your cooperation and support with the following safety measures as we work through the current situation:

  • Wear a face covering and practice social distancing to the best extent possible.

  • Wait in your car upon arrival and call us. We will notify you when we are ready for you to come in.

  • Immediately use hand sanitizer provided upon arrival and have your temperature taken.

  • Please avoid bringing friends and relatives who do not have scheduled appointments. Only patients receiving treatment will be allowed in the treatment rooms.

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 for when we open, please call our office at 610-769-5200.

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,
Dr. Zalak Patel and the staff at Lehigh Family Dentistry.