We hope you and your family are safe and in good health. Our community has been through a lot this year and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. We are happy to announce that our office is open and have resumed our normal operations including teeth cleanings and routine care. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to
your safety.

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). We are committed to ensuring that our infection control procedures are current, effective, and in most cases, exceed the recommended guidelines to open the practice. In addition to our existing rigorous infection control procedures, we have added several additional measures of safety. Here are a few examples:

• Medical grade air purification systems have been installed throughout the office.
• Upgrades to our evacuation systems, intra and extra oral, to minimize aerosol droplets.
• Improvements in our PPE (personal protective equipment) such as N95 masks and full face shields.
• Enhanced surface and air disinfection protocols between patient appointments.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. 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.
• Your temperature will be taken with a no-contact forehead thermometer.
• Hand sanitizer will be provided to you upon entering.
• You may see that our waiting room will look a bit different. For now, we have removed the beverage service and magazines, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
• We have made the additional following changes to keep everyone safe as we open up again:
•  Please brush your teeth prior to coming to the office.
• We ask that you call our office at (510) 841-0108 to “check-in” when you arrive. Please wait in your car or outside the building until we are ready to see you.
• Payments can be made over the phone or online.
• When the doctor or hygienist is ready to see you, we will call you to come to the office door which will be locked (This is to keep a safe environment with limited people entering.) please ring the door bell once you arrive.
• Please arrive to the office wearing a face mask and bring your own sunglasses for your eye protection
  during your appointment. In addition we ask that you bring any other items for your comfort such as pillows, blankets, and music players with headphones.
• Hygiene appointments have been modified (targeted periodontal therapy) to prioritize treatment of areas that require the most attention. Current practice standards minimize the use of ultrasonic scalers and polish due to the generation of aerosolized water droplets.

We look forward to seeing you 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 (510) 841-0108 or email us at care@drjennifercho.com. Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming you back to our office.