To Our Dear Patients,
We miss you dearly!! While we love being with our families at home during the quarantine, and enjoy a forced homestay to hone our cooking and cleaning skills, we are looking forward to seeing you again very soon.
As many of you may be aware, Premiere Scott Moe rolled out the opening of the province on Thursday. Among the businesses that are slated for Phase 1 opening on May 4, are dental clinics. This is an exciting announcement as it reflects the hard work by all of us in the province to flatten the curve protecting ourselves and others.
However, we are sad to let you know that just because the government has decided to open the province, many professions may not be able to do this immediately on May 4th. Dentistry is among these and we will discuss the reasons below. It is of paramount importance to us that when we do this, it is done right: with the utmost care and consideration for your (and our staff’s) health and the well-being of our beautiful province.
We know that many of you have been desperately and patiently waiting to come in for your checkups, cleanings, fillings, and toothaches; those Invisalign treatments that need proper follow up; or the surgeries that were postponed. We are desperate to start working with you again!
Unfortunately, the news of the re-opening has come rather abruptly and a few things will need to happen before we are open and can ensure we are a safe environment for serving you:
- Although the government has given the green light to dental clinics to open, the final permission will need to come from the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan, the governing body of all dentists in the province. We are waiting to get clearance and new guidelines from CDSS. No set timeline has been announced.
- All dental personnel will need to wear full PPE gear. As you know, there is an extreme shortage of the material. Many of these items are back-ordered for weeks, and hospitals have dibs on them. We placed our orders over six weeks ago and hope to receive a shipment in the near future. But as of now, we are not equipped for protection. Virtually all clinics in the province are in the same situation.
- We expect that we will need to make some mechanical changes to our clinic rooms before we are fully operational. We are not sure what these changes are exactly, but will likely involve creating negative pressures in the treatment rooms, and air filtration and UV treatment to kill airborne viruses. Again, we are waiting on guidelines, but we anticipate a delay before we are open and ready for service.
Please be patient with us as we navigate rapidly moving and turbulent waters. Things can change quickly for the better. Please rest assured that we have your and our staff’s best interest in mind and will stop at nothing short of excellence and highest standards. And the moment that we are confident about our abilities, we will be sure to reach out and contact each and every one of you.
NOTE: We are still here to assist with emergency services, so if you are experiencing any of the following; pain, swelling, discomfort, trauma, or bleeding, please call our office at: 306.244.8788
As always, we welcome any feedback, questions or comments via email.
