COVID-19 Information

May 15, 2020 | Blog, COVID-19, General Dentistry

May 24, 2020

As the Province of BC has lifted the shutdown on non-essential dental services, we are busy preparing our plan to reopen our dental office safely.  Our primary concern is the health and safety of our patients and team.  Please bear with us while we source the extra PPE we are implementing to keep everyone safe.  We will update you once we have a set opening date.  Right now, we are subject to shipping times.

May 14, 2020

We continue to patiently wait for an update on when we can reopen from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafeBC and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC.

Please see the following press release from the British Columbia Dental Association:

Dental Offices Not Open for Full Services May 19

May 14, 2020, 12:00pm: The BC Dental Association (BCDA) advises patients that dental offices will not be returning to regular practice May 19. Full dental services, including hygiene care, will be introduced gradually and when it is safe to do so. As evidenced in other provinces, there is no singular approach to restarting services. Plans for BC will consider the different circumstances in various areas, including access to required personal protective equipment (PPE).

When Premier John Horgan announced the provincial government’s BC Restart Plan on May 6, many patients assumed dental offices would be returning to regular services on May 19. However, as the Premier and Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, confirmed in media briefings May 13, WorkSafeBC and public health officials have begun to develop guidelines for various sectors, including dentistry, to extend services – but they have not been published yet.

As we can all appreciate, the guidelines to protect patients, dentists and dental staff need to be aligned based on the epidemiology of managing the risk of COVID-19 in BC.

On May 13, Dr. Henry indicated that new guidelines are currently being worked on with regulators, including the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, “Direction is going to be provided, and we’re working on that with the regulatory authorities, the colleges for all the regulated health professions, on incremental changes and the guidance they need to move forward over the next couple of weeks.”

“Dental teams are experts at infection control and dentists want to ensure their practices are appropriately set up to comply with physical distancing and other particular requirements to reduce the transmission of COVID-19”, says BCDA spokesperson, Dr. Alastair Nicoll.

Dr. Nicoll continued, “Dental offices have been limited to tele-dentistry and emergency care since March 23. When the public health orders change, and patients begin returning to dental offices, the dental visit will look different. For example, chairs, magazines and toys will be removed from waiting rooms, and the receptionist may be sitting behind a plexiglass screen. Patients will also be asked different health screening questions when making their appointment and on the day of their appointment; and asked to clean their hands before and after their appointment. These and other changes will be communicated by your dental office once the new guidelines are published.”

“By all means, dental patients should contact their dentist to schedule an appointment, but please understand that until further direction is provided by the Provincial Health Officer and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, dentists are only permitted to provide emergency and urgent services.”, said Dr. Nicoll.

May 3, 2020

Hi Everyone,

We miss you!

It has now been a month and a half since we closed our office for routine dental care due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We hope that this finds you all healthy and hopefully finding a few moments of peace and joy during this unprecedented time.  I know that I am trying to make the most of it by enjoying some sunshine in my yard and tackling some projects around our house.

I thought I would touch base with you all regarding where we go from here.  I am not sure if you are aware that Premier Horgan announced last week that dentistry will be one of the first sectors to open back up.  We are anxiously awaiting more guidance from the provincial health authority and our dental college as to what extra precautions we will be putting in place to protect both our lovely patients and our amazing team.  Our biggest concern is how to keep both our patients and our team healthy and safe during this all.  As soon as we know more, we will be getting ready to welcome you back to our office.  I know that many of you have dental concerns that need to be taken care of very soon before they become problematic.  

As always, if you do have a dental emergency or just need some advice on how to proceed until you can be seen, please do not hesitate to call the office.  My cell phone number is on the voicemail message so that you can reach me.

Dr. Robyn Moreau

March 18, 2020

We are sure that you have heard in the media that there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the Pacific Dental Conference that was recently held in Vancouver on March 5-7^th. We wanted to reach out to you to keep you informed of up to date information that has been given to us by our governing bodies and the Provincial Health Team. 

While our dentists were present at the Pacific Dental Conference and did return to work the following week (March 09th), we did so as it had not been announced that there was a possible case.  We were informed by the Pacific Dental Conference on March 12^th of the confirmed case and they advised us to monitor for symptoms but take no other measures.  As our team was feeling healthy, we continued as usual treating our patients.  As of yesterday afternoon, the province, the College of Dental Surgeons of BC and BC Health Services has instructed us to cease treating non-emergent patients, which we have done in closing our office.

Please take comfort in knowing that none of our team has any symptoms and has been back in Kelowna since March 8^th.  In all steps of this unprecedented situation we have followed all recommendations from our Dental College, and the Provincial Health Services.  The risks of exposure to our dentists at the Conference are still considered low and the recommendation to self-isolate is a precaution we are taking seriously.

As a Dental Office, on a daily basis we go above and beyond in exercising the highest levels of cleanliness and sterilization.  We are proud to have always adopted the highest standards in our practice and practice them daily. 

If you have any concerns or are unsure about symptoms, please contact the provincial health link at 811 or 1-888-COVID19 or complete the online assessment.  We will continue to follow the recommendations of the BC Provincial Health and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC. 

The College of Dental Surgeons of BC has advised us to cancel all elective and non-essential dental services immediately until further notice.  We have closed the office as of last night and Dr. Moreau and Dr. Martin are self-isolating until Sunday, March 22^nd as recommended.  After March 22^nd, Dr. Moreau will be handling patients who require immediate treatment due to infection, acute pain and/or trauma.  Please call the office if you are having a dental emergency to receive the emergency number.

Thank you for reaching out with your questions, we will be in contact with any updates that we may have. 

We hope that everyone stays healthy out there and that our society can return to normal as soon as possible once this pandemic has passed.

Dr. Robyn Moreau, Dr. Tom Martin and the team at Kelowna Family Dental