The safety, health and well-being of our mutual patients has always been our top priority. Whether this is through the care we provide or the environment of our surgical facilities. Our internal policies and procedures have always exceeded federally mandated guidelines to protect our patients and staff. Our commitment to provide your patients the safest care throughout this evolving situation is not something we take lightly.
We always have and will continue to go above and beyond to ensure that we are exceeding the highest standard of care and customer service.
Here are a few extra precautions that we are taking, but not limited to:
• Monitoring guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization.
• Following the news related to local conditions on an hourly basis.
• Increasing the frequency of our sanitation practices inside and outside our surgical facilities.
• Wiping down our waiting rooms, chairs, counters and door handles hourly.
• Providing additional hand sanitizer to patients.
• Allowing our patients to wait in their cars or outside our office and notifying them when we are ready for their appointment.
We are also asking our patients a few questions to help mitigate any potential exposures. These questions are:
• If you are a patient who has traveled outside the US within the last month
• Had contact with someone who traveled outside the US and was/is now sick
• Had contact with someone who was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus or the flu
• Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms: Temperature, Active Cough or Trouble Breathing
If you answer yes, our doctor will be informed and will take appropriate action to protect patients and staff.
Sincerely,
The Doctors and Staff at SVII
Getting new dental implants is a crucial first step to better oral health. From there, you will need to take good care of your implants to increase your personal success rate. Implants can last for decades as long as you practice good maintenance, and we will go over these steps when you pay us a visit.
Get Your Teeth Professionally Cleaned
You should continue brushing and flossing at home every day. However, you still need to see our periodontist in Winchester, VA twice annually. These visits give Drs. Steven Saunders, Victor Saunders and Jeff Dickson a chance to see if there is an infection developing. Treatment is much simpler if we can catch a problem before it escalates too much.
Avoid Using Your Teeth as Tools
Many people use their teeth to open packaging. You should never use your teeth, especially an implant, for anything other than chewing. You also need to watch out for harmful habits that could damage the implant or crown. Chewing on ice cubes and biting on your fingernails can crack the crown.
Use antimicrobial mouthwash
Another way to prevent bacteria from infecting the gum tissue is to use mouthwash regularly. However, when you are at the store, you should opt for a mouth rinse that is specially designed to be antimicrobial. This means it specifically targets bacteria and does much more than just make your breath smell good.
Little To Fear at Our Office
For the most part, you just need to care for your dental implants the same way you would for your natural teeth. Implants have a success rate of 95 percent, so as long as you follow a few basic steps, you can expect your restorations to last for the rest of your life. Get in touch with a Shenandoah Valley Implant Institute staff member promptly, and we will review the implant procedure in more detail.