COVID-19 UPDATE

​

At Paediatric Dental Care, we are committed to the delivery of timely, effective and appropriate dental care for children.  During this time of heightened concern of transmission of COVID-19, we have made some changes to our practice to maintain the health and safety of our patients, caregivers and staff and to work as part of a broader effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within the community.

If any child or caregiver is too ill for school or work, the child’s appointment will need to be rescheduled.  Similarly, if any patient or someone within the patient’s home is required to self isolate due their COVID-19 infection risk, the appointment will need to be rescheduled.  If your child has a dental emergency but is unwell, needs to isolate due to their medical health, or is in a period of quarantine, please contact our staff by phone and we will do our utmost to arrange appropriate emergency care. 

To avoid the risk of transmission between visitors to our practice, we are very sad to report that we have temporarily removed the “prize box” from each surgery.  The prize traditionally given at the end of the appointment will now be replaced with stickers.  We have also retired the toys from our waiting room until further notice.  We would encourage all families to bring something from your home to entertain your children during the period between your arrival and your consultation with our dentists. 

As a paediatric health service provider, we understand that each patient often attends their appointment with several members of their family.  We politely request that you attend our rooms with only one caregiver so that our waiting room is not too crowded. 

It is known that COVID-19 is spread primarily through respiratory droplets.  This puts dentists and dental assistants in the direct line of fire.  We have made some changes to our clinical practice to try and reduce our own risk of transmission.  As a practice, we have always placed emphasis on teaching children to improve their oral hygiene practices at home, rather than relying on a professional clean at their check ups.  You will find that we will place more emphasis on this during this time as our ability to provide dental cleans is reduced.  If you child attends their appointment with inadequate oral hygiene, they may be asked to leave the clinic to brush their teeth.  We may also request that children use an antiseptic mouthwash prior to any dental treatment (age appropriate alterations to this will be practiced).  

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight to our new patients and remind our existing patients that our building has only one male and one female public toilet to service the ground floor.  If you wish to practice your own risk reduction measures, we encourage you to use your own bathroom at home before attending your appointment.  Hand sanitizer will be available for your use within the building and in our rooms.

If we cancelled your child’s appointment during the recent “shut down” of dental practices, please be patient with us as we work towards rescheduling them.  We will be rebooking our children with active dental disease before we rebook our patients with non-urgent care.  To assist with social distancing in our rooms, we will only have one specialist working each day and, as such, we have fewer appointments available.  If your child has an upcoming appointment for a check up and you would prefer to postpone this, please contact our clinic on 82320222 and we will arrange this with you.  

The above changes have been made in reflection of recommendations by The Australian Government, Department of Health and the Australian Dental Association.  They are the current best-known practice but may change as the experience within our community changes.

Suite 2, 316 Wakefield Street

Adelaide SA 5000

Ph 8232 0222