It’s unnerving to walk into a grocery store and see barren shelves. Or learn that your local restaurants are now only serving carry-out. Or hear of another store, theater, or event that’s been forced to shut down.
We don’t know yet how all of this will play out, no one does, but we have faith that everything will be okay in the end. We wanted to take a moment to update you on how we are handling the COVID-19 crisis and put your mind at ease.
Arizona Smile Designers is currently open and staffed, and we ensure you we have taken every precaution to keep our practice as clean as possible. We exercise state of the art disinfection and sterilization techniques to protect our valued patients and staff. For decades, our dental infection control guidelines for Arizona and the CDC, have dictated that we treat each patient as if they have an infectious disease. We have been implementing these procedures for years and updating them as technology has advanced. Our current sterilization procedures exceed current standards and will continue to be that way.
In following the guidelines provide by the CDC we are asking that any patients who have travelled to high risk zones or have had contact with anyone that has, please call our office before your appointment. Additionally, we ask that those that have a fever, cough, shortness of breath or flu-like symptoms please kindly inform our staff prior to making your appointment or coming in for a previously scheduled appointment.
Even if you don’t have a scheduled appointment, the Arizona Smile Designers family wants to let you know that we’re thinking about each and every one of you during this unprecedented time and remind you that we’re all in this together.
Don’t forget to try and stay calm. Yes, these are strange days and the news can be stressful, but the last thing your immune systems needs at a time like this is the burden of chronic stress. Because, as you may know, stress actually impairs your immune system’s ability to fight antigens which makes you more likely to get sick.
So, don’t forget to make it a point to practice stress-reducing self-care if you’re not doing so already. For instance, you might want to go “offline” and enjoy a walk around your neighborhood. Look outside: spring is beginning to bloom! Or you might spend some more time in prayer, meditation, and devotion when you wake up. Or play some of your favorite music and dance! Or re-watch a favorite movie you haven’t seen in years.
Whatever you do, remember to breathe, deeply and slowly. As you breathe deeply, your body sends messages to your brain to calm down and relax. And while you do that, just remember we will all make it through this together.
