19/03/2020

TO OUR VALUED PATIENTS

Unfortunately with the CoVid 19 Pandemic we have been advised by

The College of Dental Surgeons of BC

To limit dental services to only

acute dental emergencies effective March 16, 2020

IF YOU ARE DR. GALLANT’S PATIENT AND REQUIRE EMERGENCY CARE

PLEASE CALL DR GALLANT AT 250 661 1447

For non emergent inquiries you can email info@gallantdentistry.com

At this time we don’t know when we will be able to resume non-essential care.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this trying time.

Please stay safe and stay well. 

Thank you.

Dr. Chanel Gallant and staff

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OUR VALUED PATIENTS AT GALLANT DENTISTRY REGARDING THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

We know there is a lot of information circulating about the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), specifically with regard to dental offices and dental treatment.  We all recognize that this can be a particularly stressful time for our patients with appointments scheduled and treatment needing to be done.  We would like to address some of these questions, and hopefully help put your minds at ease.

There have been 4 confirmed cases of Covid-19  linked to the Pacific Dental Conference (PDC) as of Monday March 16.  Dr. Gallant and one staff member attended the PDC in early March (Dr Gallant attended for the day of March 5 only). Although Dr. Gallant and our staff member have not exhibited ANY symptoms whatsoever, the College of Dental Surgeons of BC (CDSBC) has required all attendees to self-isolate until March 22, 2020. Please refer to the following Dental Patient Questions and Answers about COVID-19 released by the BCDA for more information

Please also refer to the following: BCDA statement- Covid-19 and Dental Care in British Columbia

The CDSBC has also strongly recommended that all routine dental treatments be suspended for all dental offices in BC until further notice.  Dr. Gallant and her team will continue to monitor your emails and your messages and will respond as needed until such time that we can reopen fully once again.  During this time of closure, ANY of Dr. Gallant’s patients with true dental emergencies (pain, infection, swelling, or trauma) will be assessed by phone, triaged and treated as Dr. Gallant feels appropriate.  To protect you and Dr. Gallant, patients will only be able to attend our office after March 23, 2020 for emergency treatment only if they are virus symptom free, have not travelled outside of the country in the past 2 weeks, or been in contact with any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. For everyone’s safety, each patient will be screened by phone prior to having an appointment scheduled.

Due to this recent event, and following the new recommendations by CDSBC and our BC Health Officer regarding routine dental treatments, our office is now closed until further notice. We appreciate your patience during these challenging times.

Prior to March 23rd, any patients that have swelling, pain, dental trauma or infection will be assessed by Dr. Gallant by phone and she will determine the next step as necessary. Dr Gallant is committed to looking after her patients’ dental needs as best she can during this challenging time. Should you have any urgent dental concerns or a dental emergency that you feel requires immediate assessment, please call Dr. Gallant at (250) 388-7412. This number is for dental emergencies only, please.

We are sure you can appreciate that this is an ever evolving situation, and we are following the direction of the CDSBC  and Health Canada on a daily basis.  This means that everything is subject to change right now.  We may be contacting you to change or move appointments over the next few weeks.  Although it may be an inconvenience for all of us involved, it’s in everyone’s best interest to follow the direction of our College. The College of Dental Surgeons of BC is the governing body for dentists in the province.  Their mandate is protection of the public.  We believe they have everyone’s best in mind in making these recommendations.

For further information regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) for Dental Patients, or for more details regarding the Pacific Dental Conference, please follow the link to the BC Dental Association Website: https://bcdental.org/bcda-statement-coronavirus/

WHAT WE ARE DOING TO PROTECT OUR PATIENTS AND EMPLOYEES

We are monitoring the situation daily, and following the directions of the BCCDC and our BC Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry. Our team has always followed stringent disinfection protocols with patient and practitioner safety being our top priority.  We have now implemented additional cleaning measures including additional disinfection of all hard surfaces inside and outside of clinic areas several times daily, separating chairs in our waiting room to provide adequate social distancing, pre-screening all patients by phone prior to scheduling any patients, and are instructing all those who enter our office to either wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, or use the hand sanitizer provided on entry.  Our clerical staff are also sanitizing their hands between each interaction with patients, and disinfecting any surfaces that they may touch.

Additional measures have also been taken regarding the cleaning of the common areas of the Victoria Professional Building at 1120 Yates Street.  Daytime cleaners have been added and will concentrate on the building common areas, wiping down elevator buttons, door handles, stair railings, etc. multiple times throughout the day.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Dental patients who have the following symptoms or respiratory illness should not go to their dentist

  • Fever, cough or acute respiratory illness (with or without pneumonia OR
  • Travelled outside Canada within 14 days prior to onset of symptoms OR
  • Close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 OR
  • Other potentially relevant exposure such as close contact with someone who was ill and had travelled outside of Canada in the 14 days before the onset of symptoms.

If you meet the criteria above, please contact Dr. Gallant to be assessed by phone and please contact Healthlink BC at 811 to be assessed for testing and/or call ahead to your primary health care provider or walk in clinic and arrange for assessment by medical staff.

Below is the link for the BCCDC COVID-19 self-assessment tool:

https://covid19.thrive.health/?fbclid=IwAR3LPytCkwcHJlap3vTt_Z98L4jQ4t2e5EEvW-pJb4uAyAXgTXcWYSC40Fo

Dentists and healthcare workers across the country are doing what we can to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 spread via social distancing, and we hope you will do the same. As you are likely aware, this combined effort will reduce the over-load of emergency rooms and essential healthcare workers across the country. These are uncertain times for all of us. Hopefully if we are all proactive now, we can slow the spread of this virus and return to life and business as usual sooner, rather than later. In the meantime, please stay healthy, wash your hands often, practice social distancing, get some fresh air daily, and as always, don’t forget to brush and floss!

Thank you so much for your ongoing support and patience in the weeks ahead, and we look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Dr. Chanel Gallant and her wonderful team at Gallant Dentistry