UPDATE: 2023-04-03: Face masks are optional for patients, visitors and workers not performing clinical procedures in dental offices and other health care settings in California per new guidance from the state Department of Public Health. The guidance follows Gov. Newsom’s termination on Feb. 28 of California’s pandemic State of Emergency.

UPDATE 2021-06-15: We understand that California lifted its mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals on June15, however, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that face coverings are still required in health care settings, including dental offices, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status.

We thank you for your cooperation and support to provide a safe environment for our patients and dental team during this time.

UPDATE 2020-07-14: Our goal is safety for our patients, families, and our community. We have added to our current safety protocols. The following is a summary of how these changes affect your child’s next visit to our office.

  • Appointments will be scheduled to limit the number of people in the office. Please keep as close to your appointment times as possible. If maximum capacity is reached, you may be asked to return after we contact you when space is available.

  • All patients and parents will be screened prior to and upon arrival to the office. In addition, temperatures will be taken at the door prior to entry.

  • Masks are required as per the county mandate.

  • We have taken steps to limit time spent in the office.

    • We ask that you sign up with the office e-mail and text messaging communication system in order to complete and update patient forms online.

    • We may take intra-oral photos to enable further discussion of your child’s treatment needs through teledentistry. We will try to have all lengthy discussions over phone or computer.

    • For older kids (14 and up), parents can wait in a designated meeting place outside the office (i.e. their car) after the child’s medical history has been reviewed, treatment consent received, and estimated co-payments have been made. Parents must be reachable by phone during the entirety of the appointment should treatment changes arise. Upon completion of the appointment, the child can leave the office on their own to meet you at your designated meeting place.

  • We will require a COVID-19 PCR test with any aerosol generating procedure. We are currently doing all cleanings with hand instruments. Should oral hygiene be poor enough to require the use of equipment that falls into the category of aerosol producing, we may re-appoint and require a COVID test to complete the cleaning. So kids, please brush and floss before arriving for your appointment.

UPDATE 2020-06-22: We are happy to announce that we are now OPEN and available for routine dental care. We will be scheduling at a reduced capacity to adhere to San Francisco County’s social distancing guidelines. If you have an upcoming appointment that was scheduled prior to the Covid-19 Shelter in Place, please give us a call. We may need to adjust your appointment times or dates to allow for social distancing.

Prior to your appointments, as well as on the day of the appointment, we will be conducting a mandated Covid-19 questionnaire. We will also be checking the temperatures of all visitors prior to entering the office. Your safety and the safety of our staff is our priority. We look forward to seeing you!

UPDATE 2020-05-05: Due to the extension of the SF Shelter in Place guidelines through the end of May, we are NOT able to open for routine dental care at this time.

We have been closely monitoring the constant changes in San Francisco’s Shelter in Place orders due to COVID-19, and wanted to reach out with another update to our office status as well as how we are working to protect the health and safety of both you and our team.

OFFICE STATUS

Due to the extension of the SF Shelter in Place guidelines through the end of May, we are NOT able to open for routine dental care at this time. Please e-mail (info@discoverypd.com) or call our office (415-441-7766) for instructions on how to reach us if you have any emergency dental issues. We have been contacting parents who have urgent questions and will continue to provide guidance for maintaining your child’s dental health while we are sheltering in place. Once we get the clearance from the County of San Francisco, we will contact patients that have missed their appointments during the shelter in place period.

KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE

Here is a sample of a few changes that we will implement upon reopening: 

  • Limiting Person to Person Contact: There will be a limit to the number of people allowed in the office at one time. We ask that no more than 1 adult accompany the patient(s) to the appointment. Please do not bring any siblings that do not have an appointment if possible. Our play areas will be inaccessible during this time. Masks or equivalent facial coverings must be worn inside. We encourage the use of contactless mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Android Pay.

  • Screening for COVID-19: Everyone (i.e. staff, patients, parents, etc.) will be screened before entering the office with a questionnaire and by taking their temperature. Anyone with positive answers to the questionnaire or a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees F, will NOT be allowed to enter the office.

  • Minimizing Your Time in the Office: We are working to streamline our check-in process to minimize the amount of time you will be in the office. Documents may be sent electronically requesting for electronic signatures. We will try our best to do what we can either electronically or via telephone where feasible.

More specific instructions and guidelines will be sent out prior to your next appointment with us. We just wanted to let you know that while we have been sheltering in place, we have continued working, planning, and preparing to provide you and your child the highest level of dental care once we open our doors.

THANK YOU

In this world of uncertainty, we appreciate your patience and understanding. We are all in this together and are eager to go back to work to see everyone's happy, healthy smiles. As a small business, we appreciate your support now and always!

UPDATE 2020-03-31: Due to current guidelines at the city and federal level, the office will remain closed at least until May 1st, 2020, except for dental emergencies. In case of urgent questions or you need to speak to one of the doctors, please call our office phone number at (415) 441-7766 for instructions.

UPDATE 2020-03-16: The city of San Francisco has issued a city wide Public Health Order mandating that everyone shelter in place.  This, along with the CDA's guidelines, has prompted us to close for 3 weeks, from March 16 until April 7, except for dental emergencies.

Any appointments that are scheduled during this period will be automatically cancelled by the office.  Our staff members are not in to take your calls, so please only contact us if you have an emergency. You can call our office number (415) 441-7766 for instructions on how to contact the doctor on call.

Thank you for your continued patience during these trying times.

The Doctors and Staff of Discovery Pediatric Dentistry