Dear Patients and Families,

We hope you and your family have all stayed safe during this time of COVID-19 and thank you all for your continued patience and understanding. At Health First Dentistry, our mission is to provide optimum dental care to help ensure your personal well-being. We are working hard to maintain the highest standard of safety for patients and staff as we return to routine care appointments for our existing patients and welcome new patients to our office.

We have been monitoring all updates from the federal and provincial governments and regulatory bodies closely over the course of this pandemic, and we take our responsibility to provide a safe work and patient care environment very seriously. We have made changes to align with and to exceed the current guidelines from the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, the BC Centre for Disease Control, and WorkSafe BC. In order to keep our patients and staff safe, we have implemented the following changes:

• Enhanced patient and staff screening on the phone and upon entering our facility
• Temperature checks of patients and staff upon arrival
• Hand sanitizer and hand washing required for patients upon entry and exit
• Altered patient flow in the office to allow for social distancing
• Physical barriers in place
• Non-contact payment
• Enhanced personal protective equipment
• Increased frequency of cleaning and sanitization in treatment rooms and all areas of the clinic
• Continued use of the highest standard of sterilization for dental equipment and instruments
• Engineering changes to increase air exchange in operatory rooms
• Respiratory protection program developed for staff
• Over-the-phone consultations available

We ask that you kindly reschedule your appointment if you or a member of your household has had any flu-like symptoms, if you have travelled in the past two weeks, or if you have been in contact with any confirmed COVID-19 positive patients, or persons self-isolating because of a determined risk for COVID-19. For additional information, please visit http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19 or Dial 8-1-1 to speak directly with HealthLink BC.

We thank you for your kindness and patience at this time. We are committed to ensuring your safety as we all navigate this pandemic together. Please read the information below for what you can expect when you arrive for your appointment, as well as for important changes to our payment policy. We look forward to seeing you soon, and please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Dr. Kevin Doyle, Dr. Danielle Coulson, Dr. Renata Kutsankina, and Staff

What to expect

When you arrive at the office, the office itself and our protocols have changed. We have updated our office layout, scheduling, and clinical and administrative protocols to comply with new guidelines and to allow for physical distancing. Please note that there will be no entry to the office without an appointment, and we are unable to accept walk-in patients in the office at this time for any reason. Here is what you can expect:

Before your appointment:

• The day before your appointment, our administrative staff will call you to confirm your appointment and conduct a Patient Screening Questionnaire by phone.
• If for any reason we are unable to contact you to conduct this screening questionaire your appointment will automatically be cancelled and you will be rescheduled to another day.
• Please arrive to your appointment alone, unless you require assistance. For young children, please ensure only one parent/guardian accompanies the child to the appointment.
• Please limit the number of personal items you bring with you to the office (such as purses, handbags, cellphones etc.)
• Please wear a non-medical mask to your appointment.
• Please be aware that washroom facilities are restricted.
• Please arrive on time for your appointment and wait outside in your car. We will phone you when it is time for you to enter the building for your appointment. This is to ensure we are maintaining physical distancing between you and other patients.

When you arrive:

• You will be met in our new screening area by one of our clinical staff. You will be asked to sanitize your hands upon entry and your temperature will be recorded with a contactless thermometer.
• We will conduct a Patient Screening Questionnaire and ask you to sign a form to consent to treatment during a pandemic. You can view this form here.
• You will be escorted to the operatory where the dentist will await your arrival. Our clinical staff will be wearing personal protective equipment (“PPE”) (lab coat/gown, mask, face shields and gloves).
• Note – if you are scheduled to see the hygienist, your appointment is only with the hygienist and the dentist will not be examining your teeth at that time. Due to concerns with PPE and patient scheduling requirements, all exams will be booked as separate appointments with the dentist.

After your appointment:

• You will be escorted from the operatory by our clinical staff. You will be able to speak with our administrative staff, and they will assist you with billing, contactless payment and scheduling of future appointments.
• We require that you sanitize your hands before leaving the building.

Payment Policy

In our continued commitment to provide the highest quality of dental care available to all our patients please note that our office will no longer be accepting insurance payments on our patient’s behalf. By having the insurance pay our patients directly, it will greatly simplify payment transactions and allow our staff to concentrate on patient screening, management, and clinic disinfection, ensuring the environment is safe for everyone.

What this means:

• Patients will pay our office directly at the time of service.
• The insurance company will reimburse you directly, rather than reimbursing us.
• If you have direct deposit set up, many insurance companies will deposit the payment into your bank account within 24-48 hours of receiving your claim, otherwise, it might take 1-2 weeks for a cheque to arrive in the mail.
• We will continue to predetermine insurance estimates for major treatment.
• We will be available to help you troubleshoot insurance claims if there are any issues.
• As before, it is important that you, as the owner of your plan, are aware of the details of your insurance plan. We encourage our patients to talk to their insurance company regarding the coverage of their plan. It is the patient’s responsibility to be aware of what kind of coverage they have, and our staff will be happy to tell you how this applies to your planned treatment.
• Our office has a $10 fee per office visit for enhanced personal protective equipment necessary due to the pandemic.

Cancellation Policy

We ask that you please provide us with 24-hour notice for any appointment cancellation. Missed appointments or last-minute cancellations will be subject to $100 cancellation fee.