We are so excited to tell you that we have opened all four of our Salt Lake City area offices to resume providing pediatric dental services to our communities! As of Monday, April 27, 2020 we are back in business!
Utah Begins to Lift Restrictions
This may come as a surprise to you as the battle with the COVID 19 pandemic is far from over. However, during his daily COVID 19 briefing on Wednesday April 22, 2020, Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced that Utah’s dental clinics statewide have permission to reopen and resume our routine checkups, teeth cleanings, and elective procedures.
He stated, “What this means is,” stated Gov. Herbert, “for those doctors, dentists, and others that are concerned about what they can do today that they couldn’t do when the coronavirus hit, the answer is, you can perform really about any procedure that you were doing before, with some safety protocols and precautions in place. So, it will be close to business as usual before, with some safety precautions and protocols that need to be in place.”
So, What Will the Safety Precautions and Protocols Look Like?
Make no mistake, we care about your family members and their overall health, not just their dental health! We will be taking every precaution and following rigorous safety guidelines. Here’s what you can expect:
- We will take your temperature to check for fever. Fever is one of the most obvious and easily identified symptoms of COVID 19.
- Everyone present must wear a mask.
- There will be no reading material or toys in the waiting room.
- Patients should wait in their car in the parking lot until escorted in for immediate treatment.
- Our dental staff will wear face shields or goggles when performing procedures that may produce aerosols.
- We will maintain 6 feet of distance between ourselves and you.
- We will provide a screening questionnaire for information about symptoms, illness, and recent travels.
- A limit of one parent per pediatric patient is allowed.
The American Dental Association (ADA) and the Utah Dental Association have released recommendations and guidance for dental practices re-opening admit COVID 19 pandemic.
Reasoning Behind the Change of Restrictions
According to Governor Herbert in his media briefing, ““Data is what is driving us. It’s not fear. It is not politics. We’re seeing both of those out in the marketplace today. We are being driven by data and trying to find that right balance point to do what we do. It is a responsible and commonsense approach that we have taken.”
In a press release about the app Governor Herbert stated, “Our Utah Department of Health is focused on targeted ways we can trace the spread of COVID-19. The more Utahns choose to use this application, the more clearly our public health teams will be able to see exactly where, and whom the virus is infecting.”
At this media briefing, they also took the opportunity to introduce a smart phone application, called Healthy Together. This smart phone application is not mandatory for Utahans, it will serve our communities on a voluntary basis. The great thing about this app is that it will provide people with information about their symptoms and where they can get tested for COVID 19. Additionally, data pulled from this app will allow state health officials track contact with the virus. App users can be alerted if they have contact with someone infected by the virus. It will thus provide better data for health officials to track the virus, and identify hot spots in communities. The app uses data pulled from GPS and Bluetooth technology to track where users are and with whom they’ve come into contact.
When a person tests positive for COVID 19, a public health employee will contact them to review any contact they have had with other persons. The expectation is that this app will help public health better trace the virus. According to state epidemiologist Dr Angela Dunn, “Testing and contact tracing are crucial to any public health response, and especially to a pandemic response. I am hopeful this app will provide our hard-working contact tracing teams with even more information to help them do their jobs effectively and efficiently.”
What About Data Privacy?
Utah state officials knew this would be a likely concern, and Governor Herbert released a statement to address those concerns. In his message, he states clearly the limitations that have been contractually agreed upon for the protection of data in the app. They are as follows:
- Use of the app is strictly opt-in and voluntary.
- Users own their data and can delete their data at any time.
- Only data that is required to combat COVID-19 will be shared with public health officials.
- Location and Bluetooth data will automatically be deleted every 30 days.
- Symptom data will be automatically de-identified after 30 days.
- Healthy Together will comply with State requirements for data security and encryption.
“By participating in Healthy Together, you are playing an active and critical role in protecting the people close to you, and everyone in our community. The faster and more aggressively we can collectively respond to the threat of COVID-19, the sooner we will be able to eliminate this threat, re-open our neighborhoods, reactivate our economy, and resume enjoying everything we love about our great state. Thank you for your participation.”
Call Us to Come In
We are so looking forward to seeing you again. We know these last weeks have been full of uncertainty and challenges in trying to find a new normal. We’re working to find our new normal in our offices, and that starts this week.
Give us a call to schedule your appointment, and don’t hesitate to ask questions!
Location: South Davis Pediatric Dentistry LC
59 W Pages Ln Ste 110
Bountiful, UT 84010
Telephone: (801) 294-8880
Location: Redwood Pediatric Dentistry
6287 S Redwood Rd #201
Taylorsville, UT 84123
Telephone: (801) 281-8881
Location: Stansbury Park Pediatric Dentistry
263 Country Club Dr #102
Stansbury Park, UT 84074
Telephone: (435) 580-8800
Location: Herriman Pediatric Dentistry
11996 S Anthem Park Blvd, Ste 101
Herriman, UT 84096
Telephone: (801) 877-5800