With the colder weather coming in, we will be implementing new check-in procedures at Wagner Pediatric Dentistry.
The morning of your appointment you will receive a text from our automated system stating:
“When you arrive at our office please wait in your car. For the safety of you and others we are limiting patients in the waiting area. Please let us know you have arrived by responding to this text and we will respond when your chair is ready.”
When you park your car, please respond to this text or call our office at 414-939-3870 to let us know you have arrived. When we are ready for you to walk into the office, we will reply with:
“Thank you for patiently waiting. We are now ready to see you. Please enter our office at your earliest convenience.”
Please try to arrive 5-10 minutes before your appointment to allow for extra time for you to walk to our office. Also, please make sure all necessary forms have been filled out ahead of time. We still require an updated COVID-19 Health Questionnaire to be filled out within 24 hours of your child’s dental appointment. You should have this questionnaire available in your child’s online portal. If you cannot complete them through our Patient Portal, please print and bring with your or we can complete them over the phone before you enter.
If someone else is bringing your child to the appointment, they need to call 414-939-3870 when they arrive as they will not receive text alerts.
If you have opted out of text reminders, you need to call our office at 414-939-3870 when you arrive. We will try to make the process as simple as possible.
Thank you for helping us implement these procedures to help us mitigate this virus and keep things running smoothly at the office. There will be a learning curve with this, so thank you for your patience and understanding.
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming some “normal” habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to you and your child’s safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for Wagner Pediatric Dentistry and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when your child receives care, it is both safe and comfortable.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.
You will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. We will be opening for limited patient care starting May 26th, 2020.
Here is what you can expect before your child’s next appointment:
You will continue to receive appointment reminders via text/email. Please be on the lookout for a login email to our online patient portal through Curve Connex so you can access our pre-appointment screening questionnaire. You must create an account within 24 hours of receiving the email in order to access the new CDC recommended health questionnaire.
Each child will need an updated“COVID-19 Consent Questionnaire”24 hours before each appointment. Paper copies will be available but it is preferable to fill out this form before you arrive. Please log in to your patient portal and complete the new Covid-19 Consent Questionnaire. Use the address provided below.
Once you have logged in, there will be an option to ‘Go to my forms’ which you can click on to complete and sign any required forms.
If this is your first time logging in to your patient portal, then upon login you will be prompted to contact our office. Please call us and we can send you an invitation email to the patient portal.
Here is what you can expect during your child’s next appointment:
We will have a check-in desk outside of the office where you will arrive for your appointment. There, we will review the health questionnaire and take you and your child’s temperature.
We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed. Parents/guardians will be required to wear face protection in our office.
Only 1 parent will be allowed at each appointment (unless approved by Dr. Wagner ahead of time). Please do not bring siblings or other family members that do not have a scheduled appointment. If you cannot follow this policy you will be asked to reschedule your appointment.
You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth to avoid unnecessary contact.
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment. We may also change your current appointment time to aid in spacing out the schedule.
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 reception area at any one time.
Our staff will be following strict PPE guidelines throughout your child’s appointment. We will be wearing a gown, surgical cap, mask and face shield. Although we may look different on the outside, rest assured that we are the same fun loving staff underneath all the mandated PPE.
We 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. We will be calling all of our patients that were cancelled in March, April and May.
We are currently working through 10 weeks of cancelled patients and are trying to get everyone back on our schedule as quickly yet safely as possible. Please be patient as we navigate through this difficult task.
Thank you for being a part of our family. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends. And we thank you for your patience as we implement these very important policies into our practice.
For all patients scheduled Monday, March 16th- Friday, March 20th 2020
**AS OF 3/16- all elective/non-urgent appointments are cancelled for 2 weeks. Disregard the rest of this post**
First- I want to thank all of you for being so understanding as we all try to navigate through this incredibly stressful time. OUR #1 PRIORITY at Wagner Pediatric Dentistry is the safety and well being of our patients, their families and our staff. We are committed to keeping you informed of any and all changes that may be happening in our office guidelines and scheduling practices. We hope everyone feels safe and if we work together, we can get through this.
I wanted to make all patients who are currently scheduled during the week of 3/16/2020-3/20/2020 aware of our updated office protocol. As health care providers we feel it is important to be available to our patients. Every day we receive new information from the CDC, ADA, Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the North Shore Health Department. Since the recommendations and information provided to us changes so frequently, we will make modifications as needed.
MOST IMPORTANT- If your child is scheduled and you do not feel comfortable keeping your appointment, please call our office at 414-939-3870 and our staff will help you find a time in the future to get your child seen.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not bring anyone to the appointment who is not needed. This means other siblings, family members, and especially the elderly. If you cannot find coverage for your other children, we recommend that you reschedule your child’s appointment.
We will be taking your child’s temperature before the visit to ensure they do not have an underlying fever. IF YOUR CHILD IS SICK- PLEASE RESCHEDULE THEIR APPOINTMENT (FEVER, COUGH or SHORTNESS OF BREATH)
We will be designating a specific seat for you and your family to sit while you wait to be called in. We will do our best to call each child in as soon as we can as to avoid unnecessary waiting.
While your child is being seen, rest assured that we take infection control very seriously. All surfaces, equipment and instruments have been thoroughly cleaned and sterilized (like always) between each patient. Our staff are abiding by all recommendations made by the CDC as to avoid any exposure (like we always do). Our staff has been thoroughly trained in infection control, hand hygiene and the importance of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
Because of a limited supply of PPE, we may be required to alter your child’s treatment plan to avoid certain procedures that cause higher than normal amounts of aerosol (basically microscopic spit particles). We hope you understand and apologize for any inconvenience.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call our office at (414) 939-3870 or email us office@wagnerpediatricdentistry.com .
