To all of our Valued Patients,

First and foremost, our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been a truly difficult time for everyone.

Over the past thirty eight years, Aqua Dental has sought to provide exceptional oral health care to all of our patients.

We take pride in our work and have always focused on putting the best interest of our patients at the forefront of all that we do. While many things have changed, what remains the same is our commitment to provide safe, effective, and transparent care to our patients.

We have genuinely appreciated your continued understanding and support over the past couple months as dental care in British Columbia was restricted to emergencies only. As of May 19th 2020, under the guidance of the Provincial Health Officer and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, we will begin to gradually increase in person access to dental care at our office. We do understand you may have concerns about your upcoming dental appointment and thus we wanted to take this chance to reassure you that we are doing ALL that we can, to ensure the safety of our patients, staff, and community.

Below are some of the many changes we have made based on the guidelines provided by the College of
Dental Surgeons of BC, the Provincial Health Authority, BCCDC and WorkSafe BC.

1. Thorough pre-screening protocol and temperature checks for both patients and staff
2. Only patients with booked appointments should enter the office
3. Encouraging patients to wear masks and maintain social distancing when entering the office
4. Strict hand hygiene policy in place for all patients and staff
5. Removed chairs/toys/magazines from reception area
6. Plexiglass barriers for front desk staff
7. Frequent disinfection and sanitization of high touch surfaces
8. Thorough cleaning and sanitization of the entire office every day
9. Staggered appointment times to provide adequate time for disinfection and sterilization of all dental
   equipment and operatories as well as to minimize patient-patient interactions
10. Increased personal protective equipment for all staff
11. Increased use of barriers and isolation of operatories
12. HEPA air purifiers with UV light placed throughout the office
13. Pre-procedural rinses with 1% hydrogen peroxide for all patients

As always, the health, safety and well being of our patients will continue to be our top priority. We look forward to serving you in the upcoming weeks. We do ask for you to please be patient with us as we work hard to reschedule all missed appointments. Additionally, if you are feeling unwell please stay home. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Yours in Good Oral Health, Dr. Alnoor Somji, Dr. Zeeshan Somji and team