Our Clean Air Project

Protecting Your Health in Our Albuquerque Office

Due to the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, having clean air in our dental office has become our top priority. Many dental procedures and treatments already create non-viral aerosols and may contribute to poor indoor air quality in dental clinics. Now that COVID-19 threatens our well-being and looks like it is here to stay, we are taking things to the next level of safety, creating the cleanest environment possible for you and our team.

* Please note that while epidemiological conditions change and risk tolerance continues to evolve with the diminishing threat level, we will be adjusting the intensity of our Clean Air Project to balance maximum safety with patient comfort.

The US Department of Labor has ranked the dental profession as the #1 most hazardous job for one’s health, so by focusing on having the cleanest air, we can create a safer space for our patients as well as ourselves

How We Will Keep You Safe

Because dentistry is already excellent with surface disinfection, we had to study the science of viral aerosols and filtration in order to create a science-based approach to solving the air quality problem we are all now facing. Our comprehensive approach is called The Clean Air Project, in which we will focus on limiting deposits of potentially infectious aerosols inside our office while aggressively scrubbing the air clean in rapid cycles all day long.

Here are the details:

OPERATIONAL CHANGES:

All patient paperwork, updates, and billing are digital first to reduce physical exchanges and minimize risk of infection.

Patients are required to wear face masks in our office at all times, except during treatment. This will limit any potential viral aerosols breathed into the air asymptomatically. The CDC has officially determined COVID-19 to be airborne, which means expelled viral aerosols pose a great risk. Almost our entire Clean Air Project was founded on the management of aerosols, so rest assured, we are doing everything we possibly can to keep you safe by controlling the movement, dispersal, and intensity of any potential viral loads in the air. We work here all day long, so we have a vested interest in our system's efficacy.

We will have all patients call or text upon arrival and will come out to get you after taking your temperature. Patients will sit alone (with rare exceptions) on opposite ends of our wide waiting room, right next to medical grade air filters. This limits the potential of asymptomatic individuals releasing any meaningful viral load into a shared space.

All staff are required to maintain full personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety protocols at all times inside the office, at least until the COVID-19 risk has passed.

CONTROLLING AIR QUALITY IN PUBLIC SPACES:

In hallways, waiting rooms, and other shared public spaces, we are employing multiple, strategically placed, medical-grade HEPA-13 air filters.

AIR QUALITY IN TREATMENT ROOMS:

Within each treatment room, we will be utilizing Surgically Clean Air JADE Air Purifiers along with AirPura UV614 Purifiers, which function above and beyond our medical-grade HEPA-13 filtration units to manage the greatest concentration of aerosols right at the source. Based on our treatment room square footage and power of our purification units, the entire volume of operatory air will be purified and turned over every 3 to 4 minutes!

DURING PATIENT TREATMENTS:

During hygiene treatments, we will use a full-time intraoral high-speed suction system named ReLeaf. During dental treatments, we will utilize an intraoral isolation system named DryShield, both of which provide continuous suction in addition to traditional high- and slow-speed suction, to pull as much potentially infectious aerosols away and into our closed vacuum system as possible.

Our Feelings About the “New Normal”

The world is now different. There is too much space between us, too little contact, too much personal connection lost. Like almost everyone, we cannot wait until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. However, we are very happy to see a gradual transition back to a more normal life again.

While our Clean Air Project is mostly permanent (who doesn’t like very clean air?), the entire Dental House team yearns for the day when we can look out at people together in our waiting room again and hug our patients following treatments. That day will come, and when it does, we will be here to greet you all as we always have, with open arms and with the best dental experience we can provide.

In the meantime, let’s be safe and do our best to care for one another.

To learn more about our Clean Air Project or if you have any questions or concerns, please refer to our blog or call (505) 835-2322 today – we’ll be happy to assist you.