Procopio Towle Dental Office – Extended Protocols

May 8, 2020 Hello from Dr. Procopio, What an unexpected new normal we face as we navigate through these unprecedented times! We would like to reach out to our valued patients of Procopio Towle Dental Office and share some thoughts with you. Most importantly, we want to let you know how much we care for your well-being given your good health is paramount. Please know that whether you visit our office for a dental emergency during the extended shelter-in-place order, or when we re-open for general dentistry services, our office continues to be safe.  We have an extraordinary team of dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and front-desk personnel who are well-trained to protect your safety. As always, we strive to deliver our dental services in accordance with the highest standards. Due to the unexpected high volume of emergency appointments we have extended our office hours to maintain social distancing. Beginning Monday, May 11, 2020 our office hours for dental emergencies are:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM

If you are not sure if it’s a “dental emergency”, call Dr. Procopio at 925-933-5677 or email her at office@procopiodds.com

We are taking enhanced measures to further protect our patients and professional team with the following additional protocols in accordance with California Dental Association (CDA), American Dental Association (ADA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

• We will allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times as well as to accommodate social distancing.
• We will schedule our patients over age 65 that have underlying serious medical conditions to be seen privately on a selected day and time.
• We will extend our hours and will be open two Saturdays a month (8:00 AM – 1:00 PM) to provide more scheduling flexibility for our patients. Updated office hours will be posted on our website: www.pwdds.com  Please always check there for the latest info.
• We will pre-screen you by phone and ask whether you have had flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or have been exposed to anyone with these symptoms within the last fourteen (14) days. When you enter our office, you will have your temperature checked with a touchless forehead thermometer.
• We will designate one entrance door and a separate exit door so you can maintain better social distancing as you circulate through the office during your appointment.
• We recommend that you wait in your car instead of our waiting room. Once you have arrived, please call our office to check-in.  We will call you back when we are ready to walk you directly to your dental treatment room.
• We will provide latex gloves and shoe covers for you to wear, should you desire to wear these items.

Although you may not have previously noticed, we have always sanitized our treatment rooms after each patient and cleaned our office daily. We will continue this regimen of thorough cleaning and sanitizing with hospital grade disinfectant. We will closely follow the frequent updates of the CDA, ADA, CDC and OSHA so that we are up-to-date on new rulings and guidelines that may be issued. This is so we ensure that our safety control procedures are current and in compliance with each agency’s recommendations. Please note that the above protocols are subject to change in order to remain in alignment with best practices and recommendations. As always, if you have any concerns or questions, we are one phone call or email away. We miss you and we look forward to seeing everyone soon and of course we extend our best wishes to you and your family for your continued health and safety. Thank you, Tiziana Procopio Towle, DDS