COVID-19 AND CHANGES TO OUR PRACTICE

We hope this update finds you and your family in good health! All of us at West Portal Dental Care are looking forward to resuming normal dental appointments and serving you. Dental care is essential healthcare, and while many things have changed, one thing has remained the same – our commitment to your safety while providing the highest quality dental care.   

You may notice a few changes when it is time for your next appointment, and want to give you advanced notice of them.

  • Our staff will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions related to COVID-19. Once in the office, you will be asked these questions again and will be required to sign a form affirming your answers. You will also have your temperature read at the front desk with an extra-oral thermometer.

  • Please reschedule your visit if you are experiencing any COVID-related symptoms (cough, sneezing, G.I. upset, chills, runny nose, fever, loss of smell/taste) or may have been recently exposed. 

  • If you are fully COVID-19 vaccinated (2 weeks after your second dose for Pfizer/Moderna or single dose of Johnson & Johnson) and traveling within the United States, there are no restrictions to visiting us afterwards. For anyone returning from a trip abroad, we ask that you still wait 5 days and provide results of a negative COVID-19 test before scheduling non-emergent dental work. Alternatively, you may wait 2 weeks from your return to schedule treatment. The office will request a copy of your vaccination card.

  • Please wear a mask over your mouth and nose before entering the office and when checking in or out at the front desk.


All patient operatories are fully separated from each other in individual rooms with floor to ceiling walls.

Each room is outfitted with new air filtration systems and augmented suction devices to minimize aerosol production during procedures and decontaminate the air afterwards. You will also notice enhanced PPE measures by our staff, who are all fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The above measures are being taken in addition to the standard infection control measures required to eliminate cross-contamination of pathogens between patients. For more information on these requirements, click here.

We are also cold fogging the entire office with hypochlorous acid at the end of every work day.


  • Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients and to accommodate new practice guidelines. This might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment or may have lengthier appointment times.

  • We ask that only patients with appointments and their primary caregivers enter the office.

  • Now more than ever, we ask patients to honor their appointment times and our 48 hour cancellation policy to ensure we can serve our patient base as effectively as possible. 

Our office follows standard infection control precautions developed and enforced by the American Dental Association, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the state dental board. We are continuing to follow the activities of these agencies as well as local public health department orders so that we are up to date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. Please find the American Dental Association’s latest response to the pandemic and the necessity of dental care here.

From all of us, thank you for being our patient and for your continued understanding during this time. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors, and friends to the office. 

Sincerely,

West Portal Dental Care