Since April 6th, 2020, we have focused our energy towards treating emergency and urgent care patients and we've remained open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Beginning May 1st, 2020, we will continue our normal office hours, in addition to resuming comprehensive care.
We continue to stand by you in abiding by our Governor’s guidelines for safety in Arizona. With the expectation that the day would come when dental practices would be allowed to provide broader and elective services, we have been working diligently to ensure that we are prepared for you to return to a safe environment. As is our norm in everything that we do, not only do we aim to meet but exceed the standards that are expected from us as your dental care providers. For that reason, I am excited for the future of our practice and for the care we will be able to provide you.
Under the new Executive Order issued on April 29, 2020, “general dentistry, exam, x-rays, hygiene, specialized dental care, etc.” are allowed without undergoing Covid-19 testing. It is those procedures that are deemed as “elective, non-essential surgeries”, that will require that patients be tested for Covid-19. In other words, anything that you might typically consider cosmetic is not allowed without additional precautions. We have to remember that Arizona is not "open" but "closed" and that care must be practiced by all providers to keep their patients and staff safe, as we work together towards a full re-opening. Therefore, restrictions remain in place with the expectation that doctors will do what is right for their patients, staff and our community. For that reason, I have spent many hours over the last 5 weeks developing a rigorous OSHA protocol which will reflect the level of detail and quality you are accustomed to receiving in our office.
I know that there are differing opinions about how we should move forward in all of this but, because we are here to protect and take care of you, we are doing what is best and in good conscience. Therefore, in addition to the stricter uniform, disinfection, sterilization and office protocols that have already been in place over the course of the last month, we will also be making available in-office Covid-19 testing to all of our patients and their immediate families. As previously mentioned, testing is not required in order to receive standard essential care, but I've decided to make this service available for those of you who wish to be tested and have found it difficult to do so. With the last of the details being completed in the coming days, we hope to make this service available to you within the next couple weeks.
Those patients whose appointments were cancelled in March or April should expect to be contacted for scheduling. We understand that some of you may choose to wait for treatment until things settle down a bit more and we fully appreciate your position. In order to prevent serious issues, we ask that you come if you are able to do so and ask that you trust that you are in good hands while you are here with us. We will continue to screen patients, take temperatures, practice distancing, and to schedule only one patient per provider, at a time. These safety protocols will not be going away any time soon as this is the new normal, for the time being. If despite these efforts you feel that you cannot see us in our facility, please remember that teledentistry is available to you.
Finally, I want to thank all of you for having faith in us as your dental health providers. It is always an honor to care for you and your families, and we thank you for the opportunity to do so. If you have any questions about any of this, I encourage you to call our office at (480) 654-1811 or to email me at info@reyesdental.com. These are tough times for everyone and we ask that you keep safe and strong.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sandra Reyes, DDS