We Are Open!
We are so excited to welcome you all back for your oral health needs! We have missed our amazing families and their smiling faces. We have appreciated your patience and understanding in this process and we encourage you to schedule your future appointments as soon as possible due to an increase in current appointment requests.
The CDC has now recommended that dental offices take measures to address the need to ventilate and disinfect the air in dental operatories. We feel blessed that our office has been designed to meet these challenges and that our facility has been constructed with enhanced ventilation in our treatment rooms. As a biologically and technologically advanced dental office, we have always taken infection control seriously and exceeded universal precautions as outlined by the CDC and OSHA standards of infection control. These precautions include being mercury-free, using a distilled water line source, laser dentistry, and medical-grade filters for our HVAC systems. These features are some of the ways that have always set us apart, and we are proud to continue to offer for the safety of our team and patients at Ashburn Children’s Dentistry.
With COVID-19, we have proactively added extended measures to further protect our patients to ensure that your child can receive dental care without fear or apprehension. Here are additional adjustments that we have instituted at our practice. Please take some time to get acquainted with the new changes. Feel free to give us a call with any questions or concerns:
- We will wear additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as recommended by the CDC and OSHA, including special masks and face shields.
- Each member of our team has completed additional awareness and prevention programs to enhance their knowledge and preparedness of COVID-19 protocols. In addition, daily non-contact temperature checks and screenings, will ensure our team is ready, willing, and able to provide safe dental care – every day.
- We will strive to minimize traffic between families in the office by staggering and lengthening appointment times. In an effort to save you time and multiple exposures, we are also offering extended appointments on children who are able to tolerate longer visits, as we may be able to complete some same-day treatment. We will inform you if that’s the case.
- 24-48 hours prior to your scheduled appointment, we will contact you for a virtual pre-appointment consult. During this consult, we will ask several pre-screening questions, go over paperwork, collect prepayment for your appointment, and schedule your next six-month professional dental health visit, as well as address any questions or concerns you may have about your visit. If we are unable to contact you for your pre-appointment virtual visit, your reserved appointment may be rescheduled.
- The morning of your appointment, you will receive a text, reminding you of your appointment. When you arrive for your appointment, please remain in your car, and text us when you are here. We will wave you in when we are ready for you! Please arrive on time.
- When you are waved to come into the office, we will greet you at the door, provide hand sanitizer, screen you and your child for symptoms, and take temperatures on everyone. The appointment will be rescheduled if any person (patient or guardian) has a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Please bring your own masks for all family members entering the office. Masks are expected to be worn by everyone (over the age of 2) upon entering the office.
- Please allow one parent or one caregiver per family and only bring children that have appointments to the office. Parents of children over six may be asked to remain in the reception area or your car, we will notify you if the doctor needs to discuss treatment options with you.
- Our reception area and treatment rooms will be cleared of toys, books and games.
- At the end of the appointment, if subsequent visits need to be scheduled, you will be guided in the virtual checkout process.
- If anyone coming to the appointment is experiencing a cold, cough, or fever, please stay home and call us to reschedule as early as you can.
Enhanced Professional Dental Health Visits!
Our why…
You may notice that your child’s professional dental health visit will seem different! If you have chosen us to care for your children, we take that responsibility very personally. We are here to build health-enhancing relationships and friendships with the people in our reach. We recognize that you come to us because we have the advanced education, training, experience, and knowledge of ongoing research to help inform and guide you on your path to restoring and/or maintaining optimal oral and systemic health of your child.
As healthcare providers, we have discovered that this approach to your child’s dental visit, goes hand-in-hand with improving their overall health and immunity, supporting them along a health journey that supports their individual pursuit of being the healthiest and happiest versions of themselves! As we navigate out of this health crisis, we understand how important a child’s health is, not only because of the current climate, but also for the climate of the unforeseeable future. For this reason, it has become more apparent the need for proactive preventive care for our young patients, with efforts made to get a head start on diagnosis and treatment.
What will my child’s professional dental health visit look like?
If you are a new friend or existing patient and depending on the findings, your first visit may be divided into two visits: 1. Gathering diagnostic data 2. Treatment Plan conference.
At the first visit, one of our friendly ACD team members will collect diagnostic records. This first appointment takes about 60-90 min. To allow the doctor time to complete a deep review of your child’s historic and present-day health history and concerns, we ask that you return for a 30-45min, 1-on-1 conference with the doctor. During this visit, the doctor will discuss the findings, and with your help, a comprehensive plan to restore and/or maintain your child’s optimal oral health, systemic wellness, and pathway to growing a healthy face is developed. We will gladly do our best to accommodate you, if two visits are not possible, to make a same-day review as comprehensive as possible. Also note, some consultations and follow-up visits can be handled via our secure, virtual communication. It is a cool, ultra-safe, and efficient extension of our office
At each visit, your child will work with their Ashburn Children’s Dentistry mentor/ team member, to achieve the skills they need for a thorough self-cleaning. They also engage in fun age-appropriate science experiences related to oral and total body health. At the same time, they gain exposure to careers in dental and overall health. Please be aware that we are making every effort to minimize the creation of aerosols. This means that we will use hand instruments to remove the plaque and calculus on your child’s teeth (which cannot be removed with regular toothbrushing). Prophy polish and/or ultrasonic instruments will be used when necessary. At each visit, the doctor will examine your child’s teeth and remove any remaining plaque and tartar present.
What specific diagnostic records will be taken at my child’s first visit?
(Please note: Specific records are taken depending on each child’s individual needs, which vary with each child’s development and dental health)
- First, we ask that you submit your paperwork prior to your visit and be present for your pre-appointment virtual consult 24-48 hours prior to your appointment.
- CBCT for 3D scan of head and neck to identify hard and soft tissue pathologies, airway diameter, sinus and nasal health, and TMJ
- Digital intra-oral radiographs for dental examination of historic dental work and existing disease/health state
- Clinical extra-oral and intra-oral photos – for documentation and easier patient education
- Digital Sopro scan to evaluate stress fractures, cavities, acid erosions
- Detailed questionnaires related to dental and systemic health history, sleep health, presentation of symptoms
- Learning Lab / Hands on skills development
- Review of and counsel on nutrition, hydration, oral hygiene habits and products used in the mouth and on the head and neck
- Head and neck visual cancer screening and counsel on ongoing cancer prevention
We welcome you to send any additional lab tests, reports, etc. from any other healthcare provider you may see including but not limited to your Pediatrician, Osteopathic physician, Primary care physicians physical/occupational/speech/myofunctional therapist, nutritionist, etc.; this can be sent prior to or after your initial diagnostic records visit.
Pending any additional needs, we will sometimes recommend further diagnostic records that may include, but are not limited to:
- Saliva testing to identify strains of bacteria present in patients with active periodontal disease or decay
- Home sleep test for patients with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing or have been diagnosed with sleep apnea
- Referral to Sleep Center
- Joint vibrational test for patients with TMJ disorder
**Tips to help get you ready for your appointment**
- Talk with your child about all the new changes in our office and visit protocols outlined above. We have provided a fun video in this message for your family to enjoy! Visit us on social media and our website for updates
- Brush and floss patient’s teeth just before arrival.
- Bring your own mask, a book to read or laptop, as well as a mask for each patient. Our office will be slightly cooler than normal, so you might want a jacket or your favorite blanket!
- Attend your reserved Pre-Appointment Virtual Consult and complete all required paperwork
As an office of moms and dads, we recognize the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 crisis has had on your children’s lives. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your child’s dental health, safety, and overall well-being.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient safe in our practice. As needed, we will continue to send more detailed information about our interim protocols, and procedures for patient care during our phased reopening. Feel free to reach us by phone, 703-723-8440, or preferably by email info@kidzsmile.com.
We value your trust and strive to continue delivering the absolute best care that you have grown accustomed to over the past 20 years. Thank you all for your continued support of our practice. We look forward to seeing you and your awesome kids soon!
Sincerely,
Dr. Lynda and Dr. Krystle Dean-Duru
And the entire Team at Ashburn Children’s Dentistry
