{"id":7170,"date":"2020-08-10T17:48:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T21:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=7170"},"modified":"2020-08-10T17:48:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T21:48:55","slug":"dental-office-opening-checklist-for-reopening-after-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/dental-office-opening-checklist-for-reopening-after-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Dental Office Opening Checklist for Reopening After COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After weeks – or months – in lockdown, are you ready to get back to work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coronavirus has affected millions of businesses across the world. From cafes to book stores, almost all have taken a hit. But, with more countries and states getting the virus under control, life could be starting to return to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you run a dental office, it’s likely you closed up during the virus, but now comes the chance to reopen. If you live in a state coming out of lockdown, this is great news! But the virus hasn’t just disappeared and there are still measures you need to put in place to keep everyone safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevent an outbreak with our dental office opening checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

When Should You Open?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many factors affecting when you should open your dental office. The first, of course, is the state regulations in your area. If you’re still under lockdown, don’t reopen until it’s been lifted and you know it’s safe to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other factors include the health of your dental team. For example, if you have many high-risk dentists<\/a>, it might be best to stay shut to protect them. If you don’t have enough staff available because of the virus, this could also stop you from opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re not sure whether it’s the right time to open, it could be a good idea to look at the local situation. Ask your customers for their opinion and find out if they’ll come in for a check-up during this time. You could also ask another open dentist<\/a> office about what precautions they’re taking and how their business is going, finding out whether it’s worth opening up at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you decide that it’s the right time, that’s great! But, make sure to leave enough time to create a new dental office that’s designed with Coronavirus in mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dental Office Opening Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you open your doors, there’s plenty you’ll need to do to get ready. Check out this checklist with some of the ways you can create a safe space for you, your staff, and your patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modify Your Appointment and Check-In Processes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In your new dentist office, you’ll have to change the way you book appointments and check-in patients. For appointments, make sure they book over the phone. This is a great time to explain the new procedures in your dental office and let the patients know that if they have any symptoms they shouldn’t come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also need to stagger your appointments. Instead of filling your whole office, use only a few chairs in separate rooms. Try and time the appointments so that the patients won’t be waiting together for long periods of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At check-in, ask your patients to ring reception when they’ve arrived and wait outside the building. When the appointment room is ready, call them back to let them know they can enter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep Your Entry Closed to Non-Patients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Leave a note on your door explaining the new booking and check-in systems, and keep the door closed. This will prevent people without appointments from coming in and trying to book. When you let patients in, keep a bottle of hand sanitizer by the door and check their temperature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Rid of Non-Essential Items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When opening a dental office, your priorities are very different! Nowadays, it’s all about getting patients in and out as quickly and safely as possible. That means you need to get rid of any non-essential items, such as magazines and flyers in the waiting room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove ad displays, too, as people could be tempted to touch them. If you have chairs in your waiting room, remove them to avoid people hanging around once their appointment is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stock up on PPE and Cleaning Products<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Personal protection equipment is essential for every dental office, so make sure you have plenty before you open. This includes masks, gloves, and visors. Stock up on cleaning products<\/a> to keep your office sanitized, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hire a Sanitization Assistant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a dentist, you probably don’t have time to sanitize your office thoroughly. This is why it’s a great idea to hire a sanitization assistant whose only job is to keep your space clean and free of Coronavirus. They’ll clean up the rooms between patients, clean the whole office regularly, and make sure you’ve always got enough PPE and cleaning products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update Your Employees on New Measures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To make sure your new measures work, it’s vital you update your employees. Hold a meeting before opening where you run through how the office will work and their role in keeping it safe. This is also the perfect time to hear their concerns and questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update Your Clients on New Measures <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make sure to send a letter or email out to all your patients explaining the new measures. Let them know what you’re doing to keep your office safe and what it will be like when they come in. Reassure them that you’re taking every step to manage the virus and their health is your top priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Ready to Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The thought of opening up your business again is always exciting, but don’t jump the gun! Make sure you’ve been through this dental office opening checklist thoroughly and have put all the measures you need to in place to make sure you create a safe environment. After all, if you don’t and the virus comes to your office, you’ll be closed again before you know it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more business tips, be sure to check out some of the other blogs on our website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After weeks – or months – in lockdown, are you ready to get back to work? Coronavirus has affected millions of businesses across the world. From cafes to book stores, almost all have taken a hit. But, with more countries and states getting the virus under control, life could be starting to return to normal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7170"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7172,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7170\/revisions\/7172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}