COVID 19 (Coronavirus)

March 14, 2020

At Coastal Smiles Newport Beach, we are strictly following CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on infection control to prevent the spread of diseases including COVID-19. [CDC Citation 1] [CDC Citation2]

Infection Control – Treating the sick

First of all, we are rescheduling patients who have cold or flu symptoms to a later date (at least 2 weeks later). This limits the risk of spreading illness in our office.

Infection Control – Social Distancing

The WHO and CDC recommends Social Distancing which is a 6 feet separation from others to avoid unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.

Our office is extremely spacious and is designed with a solid wall between each operatory and large hallways separating the rooms. Also, our patient flow is designed to cater to 1 to 2 patients at a time so we do not have problems with multiple patients in the same room. This allows us to easily meet the recommended Social Distancing recommendation of 6 feet between patients since we are now typically treating only one patient at a time.

Infection Control – Disinfection and Sterilization

All operatories are disinfected with a hospital grade cavicide (meeting CDC guidelines) after each patient. All other common areas are wiped with chlorine bleach and ammonium-chloride based wipes (meeting CDC guidelines) between each patient.

Infection Control – Sterilization

All single-use material is disposed of after every patient. All reusable tools and handpieces are sterilized in a hospital grade auto-clave that is calibrated to ensure quality performance.

Infection Control – Other prevention

Each of our clinical staff wear highly protective surgical masks during the treatments and disposable gloves which are changed at least 2 times during each treatment. In February, we hired an OSHA consultant to visit our office and perform an audit of our entire practice (including disinfection and sterilization control). We passed our audit with a great review and no observations.

We utilize Medical Grade High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter in our treatment rooms to clean the air in-between patients.

We understand that our patients may have concerns about leaving their house to venture out into the world during this time. For Dental Emergencies, we encourage you to seek help from a Dental Office like ours instead of going to an ER or Urgent Care clinic where your risks of coming in contact with COVID-19 infected patients is increased.

We also encourage you all to take extra precautions, like watching hands or using hand sanitizer after touching common areas (e.g. door handles and elevator buttons). Also, to limit shaking hands and hugging friends and to practice the social distancing guidelines of 6 feet between people.

Please remember that illness in the mouth can negatively impact your overall health so do not neglect your oral hygiene or avoiding in-clinic treatment when in pain.