Dear Valued Patient of Meraki Dental:

As many of you have seen and heard, we will be slowly resuming patient care in our office. I know many of you have concerns about returning for treatment. I want to assure you that the safety of our patients and dental team is our top priority. As we continue to see patients, we are stringently following the guidelines set forth by the Alberta Dental Association and College.

In order to maintain a safe environment, we are taking these measures and ask that you please abide by these new guidelines:

– PRE-APPOINTMENT WELLNESS FORMS. Before your appointment, you will receive a reminder call 1 week and 1 day prior to your appointment. The call will include a reminder to visit our website www.merakidental.ca to visit the link to a Wellness Form that you MUST complete in order to honour your appointment. This is to ensure the safety of both our dental team and other patients. If you are feeling unwell, or show any symptoms of COVID-19, please get in touch with us to reschedule your appointment. PLEASE complete all of the forms with each reminder, as things can always change within a short period of time

– CURBSIDE WAITING & CHECK-IN. To adhere to social distancing rules, we ask that you please wait in your car when you arrive at our office. Check in by calling us and we will call you back when we are ready for you to come in. Our phone number is 403-457-7757

> Our waiting area will not be in use during this time and has been removed from all magazines, toys, water, and coffee.

> We ask that each patient comes alone, with the exception of minors who need to be accompanied by a parent and those who need assistance. Only one person may accompany each patient inside the office. If there are other people at your party, please have them remain in the car. Once the patient is brought back to the treatment room, the accompanying person will be asked to return to their parked car and will be notified when the patient is finished.

– INCREASED DISINFECTION. We are increasing how frequently we clean and sanitize our office, and all team members are mandated to wash their hands, like always. Like always, hand sanitizers are placed throughout the office for your convenience. Air Purifiers have also been installed in each treatment room and common areas throughout the office to assist in the reduction of aerosols and the removal of the contaminants in the air we breathe, therefore improving air quality. Air purification will create a healthier environment for patients and staff alike.

– LONGER APPOINTMENT TIMES. Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you are 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 office at any one time.

– PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE). We have secured all of the necessary PPE to ensure the safety of our dental team and patients. With the increase in the amount of PPE our team is incorporating, the temperature in the office will be much cooler than normal.

> Upon entry into the office, we will be having you SANITIZE YOUR HANDS and CHECK YOUR TEMPERATURE at the front desk before you proceed back to the treatment room. If you show an elevated temperature of 38C or higher, we will need to cancel your appointment and have you reschedule once your symptoms have been relieved.

> Each patient will be asked to rinse with a PRE-PROCEDURAL RINSE to help reduce the number of microorganisms (bacteria) that are introduced during the appointment through splatter or aerosols.

I, and my dental team, 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.

Thank you for being our patient, we value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbours, and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr Maribel Carrillo and Team.