As an essential medical service, Studio City Dental Care has been open during the COVID-19 pandemic to help our patients maintain not only their oral health, but their overall personal health.
As you may know, periodontal bacteria can flourish if you do not brush twice per day and floss, yet 60% of Americans do not floss daily. For most patients, we recommend having our dental hygienist do a professional teeth cleaning with special tools and techniques twice a year, since doing your own cleaning is challenging to get perfect results. Our hygienist may recommend that some patients also use a water pick or small dental brush.
Gum infections that are not treated right away not only can lead to a loss of teeth, but lower general immunity, which is the key to warding off viruses and bacteria. Poor oral health can also significantly raise the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. We use a wide variety of techniques to help keep your mouth healthy, including lasers that can kill bacteria, anti-bacterial solutions, dentist-grade mouthwashes, medications, and periodontal surgery.
But you may be asking, is it safe to come into our office? We have taken steps to make sure the COVID-19 virus is not likely to spread, since the health of our patients comes first, while our doctors and staff also need to be extremely careful, of course.
- We ask each patient at the time an appointment is set and when they arrive to answer questions about their health history and current symptoms, so plan to come in a little early.”
- We take everyone’s temperature before they enter the practice area.
- We space out appointments to allow a limited number in the waiting room at one time, socially distanced with masks required (we do not allow eating or drinking while waiting).”
- Hand sanitizers are available.”
- We are using protective coverings, including disposable coats, gloves, medical-grade masks, and face shields during treatments.”
- We have always had extensive sterilization procedures in place for our dental instruments that are not immediately disposed after a single use, including them in a special solution and then exposing them to high heat. These are regularly tested to be sure they are free of any contamination.
Our dentists have more experience than most doctors when it comes to giving injections and it has been discussed that we should be providing COVID-19 vaccinations to our patients. We will let you know when we are included in the places where you can receive these vaccines.
As you can see, our dental office in Studio City is one of the safest places you could be when it comes to infection of any kind. We also service the areas of Sherman Oaks, Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Hollywood Hills, Valley Glen, Beverly Hills, Beverly Glen, and more. If you have not had a complete dental examination in a long time, schedule an appointment right now so that we can help you achieve your highest level of health.
By Alexander Ash, DDS
Dr. Ash is the founder of Studio Dental Care. He earned his Doctorate at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, followed by two General Residencies at New York-Presbyterian / Weill-Cornell Hospital and the UCLA Sepulveda VA Hospital.