At Tri-Valley Orthodontics we have the highest standards and protocols in place to ensure the health & safety of our patients:

• We use state-of-the-art hospital grade sterilization & OSHA compliant infection control protocols to ensure thorough cleansing and effective sterilization of all instruments.

• All of our brackets, wires & auxilliary appliances such as elastics and all laboratory appliances are made locally and by American manufacturers.

• Both clinical and non-clinical staff wash their hands with soap and water and use hand sanitizer frequently even when working in non-patient treatment areas. 

• Hand sanitizer is being placed on the reception area & consult room counters for patients use. Air purifiers have been placed throughout the office.

• We have instructed staff to stay home and not report to work if they are exhibiting any signs of being sick or have come in contact with someone who is sick, or if they have recently travelled to an area of high infection levels. 

• Patients with flu like symptoms (fever, coughing, shortness of breath) are being asked to reschedule their appointments. According to the CDC, symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, coughing and shortness of breath https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html 

• We are adding additional frequency of sanitizing all doorknobs, handles, railings and other high contact surfaces throughout the office multiple times a day, including entry points to our suite from common areas of the building. 

If you currently feel sick, please reschedule your appointment and call your physician. This is especially true if you have a fever, cough, sneezing, or shortness of breath. The same thing applies if you have had any of these symptoms in the last 48 hours.  

Please also reschedule your appointment if you have traveled outside the United States in the last 30 days to an area affected by the coronavirus disease. This includes China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam.

Additional Guidelines from the California Dental Association:

Hygiene etiquette involves practices that prevent the spread of illness and disease. A critical time to practice good hygiene etiquette is when you are sick, especially when coughing or sneezing. Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by:

• Coughing or sneezing

• Unclean hands

  • Touching your face after touching contaminated objects

  • Touching objects after contaminating your hands

To help stop the spread of germs:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

• Put your used tissue in a waste basket.

• If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.

Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing:

• Wash with soap and water, or

• Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water. If clean, running water is not accessible, as is common in many parts of the world, use soap and available water. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands.