Dr. Ronald C. Haas | Prosthodontist

June 18, 2020
To our fine family of patients and new patients,
We want to inform you about what we are doing to keep you and our team safe. We are excited to welcome you back! Our office has always used protocols that exceed CDC guidelines. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic we now plan to follow additional guidelines & protocols to ensure your safety. You will see many changes, as we have new ways of scheduling appointments and managing financial transactions. First, you will be contacted 48-72 hours prior to your appointment and asked a set of health-related questions. It is required that we complete this questionnaire prior to your appointment as we will have to reschedule your appointment if we are unable to complete this step.
Below is a list of some of the enhanced precautions we have taken to help protect you:

1. Personalized arrival procedures to guide you from your car directly to treatment rooms.
2. Eliminating people in the reception area. Anyone accompanying you will be asked to wait outside or in the car during your appointment.
3. Removal of magazines and items that can transfer germs. Hand sanitizers will be available.
4. Providing education materials to enhance your awareness of health issues related to this pandemic.
5. Requiring a mask to be worn by ALL patients and anyone entering the office.
6. Installed sneeze guards or droplet barriers at our reception area.
7. Requiring hand washing and sanitizing before appointments by our team and by our patients.
8. Introduce an oral pre rinse by all patients to reduce exposure to germs.
9. Having team members undergo periodic testing for COVID-19
10. Recording temperature of every patient and team member upon entering the office.
11. Payment arrangements in advance where appropriate to avoid delay and allow contactless exit from the appointment.
12. Enhanced operatory cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces between patients.
13. Office air management with HEPA air filtration continuously in treatment rooms and common areas to remove germs from circulating air.
14. HVAC disinfection with HEPA Filtration.
15. Enhanced operatory disinfection procedures before and after appointments with mist or fogging devices to access hard to reach places.
16. New personal protection equipment like face shields, gowns, and masks for our doctors and team to provide barriers against the smallest of germs.
17. New protocols to reduce or eliminate airborne aerosols during all dental procedures.
18. Enhanced daily and nightly disinfection of equipment and office fixtures like computers, keyboards, telephones, tablets, chairs, doorknobs, and buttons.
19. Longer appointments, as needed, to complete treatment in the safest and most comprehensive manner.
20. Providing medical testing recommendations, as needed, based on screening results.

Your health and safety, and that of our doctor and team, remain our office’s highest priority! Please feel free to ask any questions at any time. We know these are unusual times and we are here to help. We look forward to continuing to provide exceptional and safe care for all who have blessed us by joining our cherished family of patients and referring friends and loved ones. Thank you as always for your confidence and support!

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April 7, 2020
Given recent events regarding COVID-19 and consistent with state and federal recommendations, we are suspending all elective and routine dental procedures until further notice. In the interest of safety, only true emergencies are being treated at this time.

The health and wellbeing of everybody is our primary concern. Please be assured that we are here to answer any questions you may have and give guidance on any dental related issues you experience during this time.
If you have any questions or are experiencing a dental emergency, please call our office.

We will be reaching out to reschedule all routine visits once normal operations resume.

We are thinking of and miss seeing our treasured family of patients and are looking forward to seeing existing and new patients when we resume our regularly scheduled appointments.
Until then let’s do all we can to help stay safe and healthy!

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March 17, 2020
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is certainly on everyone's mind. Please know that in our office your safety and well-being, as well as that of the Doctor and Staff, remain our number one priority. We carefully monitor the information coming from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the American Dental Association, and other authorities regarding the Coronavirus situation and how it relates to dental treatment.

According to their latest recommendation:
“At this time, it is recommended that dental offices provide only emergency dental care for patients. Elective and non-emergent services should be postponed for a minimum of three weeks. That policy shall be revisited at that time to accommodate further developments regarding COVID-19 and further actions/recommendations from government agencies.”

Our practice strictly adheres to and exceeds the standards for infection control by wearing personal protective gear, using hospital-grade disinfectants, practicing the latest sterilization protocols, utilizing single-use disposable materials, and more. Every effort we have in place is to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. We want you to know that we are monitoring this situation very closely and will incorporate the latest recommendations.

Fortunately, these standards are effective against Coronavirus. We are also taking additional precautions including extra cleaning of reception areas, exam rooms, and frequently touched surfaces such as countertops and doorknobs. (As an additional very helpful precaution, let’s all pledge to break the habit of touching our eyes, nose and mouth. This will help even if our hands are contaminated which is, of course, unavoidable in the real world.)

Symptoms of coronavirus are similar to seasonal flu, with different degrees of severity. While we do not know everything about this virus to date, individuals who are elderly and/or immunocompromised appear to be most at risk for severe infection. To ensure your health and safety, and that of everyone at our practice, please reschedule any appointment if you or a member of your household has a cough, fever, and/or flu-like symptoms. In addition, please reschedule your appointment if you have traveled by airplane within the past 14 days.

Please be patient as these are extraordinary times which require creative solutions and precautions. Please be assured we are doing all we can to ensure your dental treatment can continue and be completed in a safe, timely and exceptional manner. Thank you in advance for your understanding! Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at 631-243-2929 or use the link on this page. We look forward to hunkering down, a vaccine, effective treatment, or warmer weather hopefully helping to bring everything back to normal, as soon as possible!

All the best always, Dr. Haas, Noe’l & Staff