Important Information Regarding COVID-19

As our community emerges from the COVID-19 crisis we are re-opening our office to serve you and hope that this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and team safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Our practice strictly adheres to and exceeds the standards for infection control by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), using hospital–grade disinfectants, practicing the latest sterilization protocols, utilizing single-use disposable material, and more  Every effort we have in place is to ensure the safety of our patients and team. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and team. For example:

  • Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. We will also check your temperature via a touchless forehead scan thermometer when you arrive for each visit. Please wear a face mask or face covering before entering the office.
  • We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
  • You may see that our reception area will no longer offer magazines, books, coffee bar and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
  • Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients as well as more thorough sanitizing of treatment rooms between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
  • We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. Also, all companions accompanying you to your appointment will need to wait in your car.
  • We have invested in additional equipment to assure a sanitary environment for both you and our team including: HEPA filter machines in our treatment rooms which filter airborne particles and viruses measuring 0.3 micrometers or greater in diameter, additional extra-oral suctioning devices that capture aerosol spray before it can be dispersed into the treatment room environment, as well as additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our team members.
  • All team members will be screened for temperature and respiratory disease symptoms at the beginning of each work day.

Symptoms of coronavirus are reported as flu-like, with varying degrees of severity. While we do not know everything about this virus to date, individuals who are elderly and/or immunocompromised appear to be the most at risk of a severe infection. To ensure your health and safety, and the health and safety of everyone at our practice, please reschedule your 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 to any areas within the past 14 days that are at high risk for contracting the coronavirus.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at Craig H. Rubinoff, DDS, MS Phone Number 858-486-GUMS (GUMS)

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our existing patients, new patients, neighbors and friends.

We thank you in advance and extend our gratitude for your understanding and cooperation. Together, we can help keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office, and one of our staff members will be more than happy to assist you.

Please view and share our latest COVID-19 Symptom Comparison Chart with your friends and family.

For further information, including measures to keep yourself healthy, visit the following links: