Dear Valued Patients,

We appreciate the trust you have placed in us for you and your dental health needs.  

During the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic we are making every effort to follow the latest guidance from the CDC, the American Dental Association and the VirginiaDepartment of Health.  In order to protect our patients and staff we have made adjustments to our normal routine.  We appreciate you and are grateful for your efforts to confront the ongoing public health crisis. Even though dental clinics have been identified as a potential environment for transmission, we are making every effort to provide care in such a way to keep our patients and our staff safe.

Some of the measures we are taking include:

• We have installed extensive barriers and partitions throughout the office and have installed UV and Plasma disinfection in the HVAC system.  Also there are HEPA air filtration units throughout the office. We have also increased our already stringent infection control protocols in both the treatment rooms and in the waiting area.
• All staff members are screened daily on arriving to the office.  This includes basic questions as well as temperature screenings.  All staff are wearing face masks while in the office.  Most of our staff has already begun the vaccination series.
• Visitors are limited but if they are necessary such as in the case of a guardian or caregiver, these individuals are also screened. 
• Some chairs have been removed from the waiting room to allow for social distancing and new easier to disinfect chairs have been placed.  
• Magazines and the coffee station have been removed from the waiting area.
• We support the concept of social distancing.  We may adjust appointment times and lengths to minimize the number of patients in our waiting area.  

We ask that our patients cooperate with these measures in the following ways:  

• Patients are also screened upon arriving to the facility which also includes temperature checks.  
• We ask that if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19including cough, fever, or shortness of breath, that you would please reschedule your appointment.  In addition, if you have close contact with a known COVID-19 individual, we ask that you reschedule your appointment until the appropriate quarantine period has passed.
• Also, we ask that our patients do not show up very early for their appointments.  You may be asked to wait in your car until the waiting room is clear.  
• We ask that our patients complete as much paperwork as possible online before their appointment. Much of our paperwork is available at our website www.blueridgeendo.com.  
• Call our office if you need help.  

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We greatly appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we strive to provide care to our patients in the cleanest and safest environment possible.

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