Monday May 4th, 2020
We are gradually reopening our doors for patients this week! It’s hard to believe we have essentially been closed for over 6 weeks now. Our team has looked for silver linings and enjoyed family time but we have missed our time together and the interaction with our patients.
Moving forward, we look at our obligations to our families, to our patients, to our healthcare personnel and facilities, and also to maintaining an operational practice. We are continually analyzing data and guidance provided by the American Dental Association (ADA), state and local health departments as well as Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As data becomes increasingly available and recommendations change, we are committed to keeping an open mind when it comes to improving the safety of our patients and team. Our main goal with the current pandemic is for all individuals to enter and exit our facility safely.
In preparation for dental care in the immediate future our patients may notice the following:
- Increased screening including questions and body temperature
- Increased utilization of basic hand hygiene for our patients
- Changes in Personal Protective Equipment for our staff
- Encouragement of our patients to utilize face masks until seated in the dental chair
- An effort to maintain physical distancing through waiting in one’s vehicle until it is time for the dental appointment
- Changes in scheduling to allow additional time in between patients
- Encouragement for our patients over the age of 65 or individuals with elevated risk to schedule appointments in the morning
We understand different opinions exist and ultimately personal choice will be respected at our clinic. We will continue to adapt as evidence-based recommendations become available and will always hold safety as a top priority. We sincerely appreciate your support through these challenging times and look forward to seeing your smiles again soon!
With gratitude,
Dr. Chris Schmaltz, Dr. Patel and team
Friday April 17, 2020
UPDATE: We will remain closed for all elective procedures through May 1st per recommendation of the North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners. The board is working to develop safety precautions that will help to protect our staff and especially our patients. We are hopeful the actual reopening date is coming in May! We will reschedule all appointments when we feel confident about the date of reopening. Please still contact us for all dental emergencies like dental pain or swelling.
We have staff available to speak to you from 9-11am on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Please call for questions regarding scheduling, billing or to schedule a teledentistry appointment.
Please follow “Northern Lights Dental Fargo” on Facebook for updates, videos and more!
Friday April 3, 2020
UPDATE: We will remain closed for all elective procedures through April 20th per recommendation of the North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners. We will reschedule all appointments when we feel confident about the date of reopening. Please still contact us for all dental emergencies like dental pain or swelling.
We are now offering teledentistry appointments. Please email us at info@nldentalfargo.com or call 701-551-2000 to notify us that you would like to schedule a virtual appointment with Dr. Patel or Dr. Schmaltz. Examples of issues that could be addressed are: Jaw Joint pain, chipped teeth, missing fillings or wisdom tooth pain. We will also be using these appointments to screen for more urgent care that may be needed. Many insurances are viewing this as a covered service given the physical distancing recommendations. Our staff will guide you through how the appointment works.
Please follow “Northern Lights Dental Fargo” on Facebook for updates, videos and more!
Thursday March 19th, 2020
Dear valued patients,
It is my difficult decision to close our clinic to all elective procedures following recommendation set forth by the North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners.
We have begun rescheduling all appointments that are viewed elective but will still be available for dental emergencies. For dental emergencies, we can be reached at our regular phone number 701-551-2000 and select option #2. This message will be sent to Dr. Patel or me, and one of us will contact you directly. You can also continue to reach us by email at info@nldentalfargo.com.
We currently plan on closing for two weeks or until further notice pending advancements or change in guidelines.
Speaking candidly…
This is a gut-wrenching decision for our clinic given the current stage of growth. Many factors play into this decision including medically vulnerable family members, dedication to patients and acknowledgement of facts we currently have. It is nearly impossible for our profession to work from home and daunting to look for financial resources and confront the unknown. I repeatedly remind myself, however, there are always people who have it worse and attitude is everything.
I currently view our clinic to be comparatively low risk of transmission so this decision is not made out of fear. Rather, I view this decision is based off potential. There is potential for us to learn useful tactics in the coming weeks as we seem to learn more daily. There is potential to allow time for establishing valuable testing. There is potential to free up valuable resources for higher priority healthcare facilities. Lastly, there is potential for our personnel to use our positivity and creativity to contribute to our community in more ways than dental-related services.
Each dental clinic is entitled to make individual decisions on closure, and we feel this is most appropriate for us. We will remain committed to our thousands of patients and look for creative ways to support you should the need arise. We will plan to come back with the same good will this clinic was established with.
This country has faced much worse and we owe it to those who came before us and those who will be here after us to show strength. We all can respond with calmness and support our neighbors. Attitude is one thing we all have control over.
All the best,
Dr. Chris Schmaltz
