Providing a safe environment and experience for the patients and communities that we serve
Dental Care Alliance has partnered with dentists around the country in an effort to provide step-by-step processes and training on new protocols to operate safely in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Safe Smiles Initiative delivers the tools needed to confidently protect our staff, patients, and communities. Providing a safe environment for stress-free dental care remains our top priority. Patients can visit any DCA-allied practice with confidence that our teams are delivering Safe Smiles today and every day.
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Sterilization + infection control
Staff clean and disinfect surfaces throughout each office following OSHA and CDC guidelines. Social distancing, physical barriers, and protocols have been put into place to restrict contact. Staff must wash their hands frequently while hand sanitizer and hydrogen peroxide rinse will help protect patients.
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
All employees will use the recommended PPE for his/her role including face and eye protection, gloves, gowns, and surgical mask or respirator. The highest level of PPE available will be used when treating patients to reduce the risk of exposure.
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Patient monitoring + precautions
All patients must wear a mask or face covering and be screened using the Safe Smiles Initiative COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire. Patients and their companions will have their temperature checked and the appointment may be rescheduled if safety critera are not met. Patients will be asked to wait in their cars or outside until the doctor or hygienist is ready for them.
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Training and resources
Live training sessions have been created to ensure compliance with all the Safe Smiles operating procedures including infection control, disinfectant product use, social distancing, PPE use, and health criteria. Successful completion of the full training suite is required for all team members prior to seeing patients.
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Office support
We developed a comprehensive playbook that allowed our supported practices to safely welcome back staff and patients. Our team is working hard to provide up-to-date information, guidelines, and patient communications to ensure everyone’s safety.
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Team member monitoring
Office team members will be screened twice a day and temperatures will be recorded by the Office Manager to ensure compliance. Employees experiencing flu-like symptoms (i.e. fever, cough, sore throat, muscle ache) will be told to stay home from work or sent home immediately. Employees can return once symptoms have been resolved.
#SafeSmilesInitiative
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Whether you’re virtually meeting up with friends, video conferencing for work and school, or having dinner with family over video chat, your smile is always center stage. Dental Care Alliance has partnered with dentists around the country in an effort to provide step-by-step processes and training on new protocols to operate safely in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The Safe Smiles Initiative delivers the tools needed to confidently protect our staff, patients, and communities. Visit dentalcarealliance.net/safe-smiles-initiative/ to learn more today. -
Sending out countless thanks to all of our dentists and teams as they continue to reopen and see patients again! Seeing your hard work, dedication, and bravery is a reminder of what makes Dental Care Alliance so powerful and unstoppable. To learn more about our Safe Smiles Initiative, curbside check-in, and other safety measures, visit dentalcarealliance.net/safe-smiles-initiative/ We are #StrongerTogether! #SafeSmilesInitiative -
Bryan Laskin, DDS, practicing dentist at Lake Minnetonka Dental in Minnesota, and DCA's Chief Innovation Officer, shares his experience during COVID-19. . “As a dentist that is actively engaged in entrepreneurship and leadership programs, I have seen many different businesses respond to this unprecedented crisis that we are all living through. DCA, thanks to its strong leadership, acted much more rapidly to COVID-19 than others and has continued to lead the way for affiliated offices more effectively than, in my opinion, any individual or group of dental practices. Having a support center that is constantly evaluating the situation and guiding us on how to respond and communicate to our teams has been key to navigating this crisis. I believe that, due to the immediate response and ongoing direction we are receiving from the support center, DCA offices will come out of this environment much stronger. From support on HR issues to working with clinical leadership to document the new PPE and infection control protocols that we will implement, the guidance from DCA has helped our office stay way ahead of the industry. Additionally, knowing that the economic burdens that come with this type of event have been eased by DCA’s strong industry partnerships, breadth of knowledge and access to capital allow us to focus and respond as positively as possible to imminent situations, rather than react in ways that would not be beneficial for the long-term.” . Head to bit.ly/2VJ65F6 to learn more. -
Thank you to the Dental One Associates of Frederick team for working together to support local hospitals and preserving ER resources for COVID-19 patients! We appreciate all of your hard work each day to keep us safe and healthy. #DentalER #DentistsHelpHospitals #StrongerTogether -
Dr. Peter Lucchese, also with Family Dental Group of Fishkill NY, has been working with the urgent cares in Dutchess County New York. Thank you for your dedication to #DentalER! #DentistsHelpHospitals #strongertogether -
Check out this inspiring story below from Dr. Karen Harriman of Drs. Lasher and Harriman at Dental One Associates of Maryland!👇 Using firedbycorona.com designs created by an Atlanta dentist, Dr. Karen Harriman and her children have been making N95 masks and donating them to her patients who work in the ER. Dr. Harriman was able to send two masks to a patient who is an EMT at a local hospital and six to a patient who had a team of nurses in need of N95 masks. "We had a patient who lost her temporary crown and was in quite a bit of discomfort. We saw her in the office, and she seemed more agitated and stressed. I knew she worked in health care and asked her if she was still working. She told me that yes, she works in a busy hospital in Prince George’s County, MD, a county that has been hit hard by Covid 19. They have been very busy, and her team had been reassigned to the ER. I inquired whether she had an N95 mask, she said yes from her previous deployment but her team did not. I asked her if she needed masks. She gratefully said yes. I shipped the masks to her house once they were completed. My children and I can make 2 a day." Patient's response: "I received the mask yesterday. Thank you and your son for these masks. My nurses are very appreciative." 📸 Pictured: Dr. Harriman and her children making masks, Dr. Harriman's assistant wearing a mask that she and her children made and another longtime patient, Kelly, an EMT who works 12-hour shifts in the ER, wearing one of the masks that Dr. Harriman and her children made. -
"I hear repeatedly from patients that they are struggling to find any open dental practice in our area, and can hear the relief in their voices when we tell them we can see them right away. At ADC Clearwater, we started a Tuesday with three emergency patients scheduled – two with broken teeth and one who had fallen on her face and came in with a black eye and broken anterior teeth. We were happy to treat each of these patients with same-day care, but before we knew it the phone was ringing off the hook with patients in pain. As these patients began rolling into the office, I saw them in tears, rocking back and forth in the waiting room in agony - I provided Motrin tablets and water as they waited, and helped turn over rooms and seat patients. Dr. Emily Relkin and her assistant, Kim Ross, worked quickly and efficiently to help every patient I put on their schedule - back to back, they worked through their lunch without complaint. After our fourth or fifth emergency checked out, thanking us profusely for being here, I felt myself become slightly emotional at the impact our teams that are still out there working and providing care are making on our patients' lives. In these hopeless times, we are staying focused and energized knowing we are doing our part to serve our communities. We know we are not alone working tirelessly right now and want to thank all of you that are still open and seeing patients - we are all comrades in this together!” -Dr. Emily Relkin Advanced Dental Care, Clearwater, Florida -
Thank you, Dr. Rose Martine Gedeon, Nallely, Maria, Drew, and the Main Street Children's Dentistry and Orthodontics Ft. Myers team for your dedication to #DentalER and helping healthcare colleagues in our fight against COVID19. We are #StrongerTogether! #dentistshelphospitals
Having DCA as a business partner during this COVID-19 tragedy has provided a wealth of support, expertise and team work I could never have experienced as a sole practitioner.
Todd Jorgenson, DMD
Periodontist |
EVIP
Ally since 2019
The thing I love most about DCA is their ability to recognize the strengths of each doctor they work with.
Bryan Laskin, DDS
General Dentist |
Lake Minnetonka Dental
Ally since 2018
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