Tonka Smiles
New Infection Control Measures in Place at Tonka Smiles
New Infection Control Measures in Place at Tonka Smiles
Our team has put together a safety plan to help ensure that our patients and our team members are as protected as possible during this time. We have implemented many new protocols at both the front desk area and clinical areas our of office. Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and we follow recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Some of the new front desk and check-in protocols are:
- Temperatures checks – We will take and record the temperatures of everyone when they arrive for their appointment.
- COVID Consent Form – There will be a consent form at the front desk for everyone to sign.
- Wellness Form – Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask you for some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
- Hand Sanitizer – We have hand sanitizers that we will ask you to use when you enter the office and we also have some located throughout the office.
- Masks -We ask that you to wear a mask when coming to your appointment.
- Cleared out Waiting Area -You may notice that we no longer have magazines, children’s toys and so forth available in our waiting room. We have always put away our famous chap-sticks, but we would be more than happy to send you home with one if you would like one.
- Social Distancing – We have separated the chairs in the waiting room and we will do our best to reduce the waiting rimes between patients as well as reduce the number of patients in the waiting area. There are also “X” markers on floor at both check-in and check-out areas.
- Plexiglass – There is plexiglass at the front desk area in front of both the check-in and check-out counters.
As for the clinical area, here are some of the new protocols:
- Rooms Labeled – We have labeled/numbered all of our hygiene and treatment rooms to minimize traffic.
- Rinse – We are having all patients pre-rinse with 1% hydrogen peroxide.
- Air Purifiers – We have installed air purifiers in each room AND high-volume suction devices in each room.
- Goodie Bags – The to go bags have been pre-packed with your toothbrush/floss goodies.
- PLUS, we are still practicing all of our same sterilization and infection control procedures as before!
We hope these new protocols make you feel protected and comfortable during your appointments here. We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation at this time!
Children’s Dental Health Month
Children’s Dental Health Month
One of our hygienists, Lexis, made a visit to the Willmar Schools to talk to the kindergartner classrooms about oral hygiene. Lexis brought models, a slide show, and many goodies for the kids. Tonka Smiles donated toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss for the classrooms and the children enjoyed their goody bags. Lexis was able to talk to four different kindergarten classes at Lakeland Elementary and she said the most frequently asked questions by the children was “should I brush my new teeth”? Thanks to Lakeland Elementary for letting us come to your school!
Valentine’s Day Festivities
Valentine’s Day Festivities
We celebrated Valentine’s Day by attending a few different events this year.
The first event was a seminar on Wednesday, February 12th that was hosted by Oral & Maxillofacial Surgical Consultants, P.A. This year’s speakers were the “Skin Sisters”. The “Skin Sisters” are Dermatology PA’s that are actual sisters in everyday life. They gave input on different skincare products, gave skincare tips, and gave advice on how to grow a successful brand on social media. It was a fun event and team bonding experience and we were fortunate enough to attend.
On Thursday, February 13th, Lake Minnetonka Ortho hosted an early Valentine’s lunch for our entire building. They had a delicious spread and even had a plant for each person to take home. Our doctors also surprised us with nice gift bags that included: candy, bath bombs, a candle, cozy socks, and other goodies. What a fun holiday and a nice reminder of how kind gestures can brighten a day.
Use It or Lose It!
Use It or Lose It!
It’s that time of year again! The end of the year is approaching and the holidays are sneaking up on us. Your benefits may also be coming to an end if your dental plan runs on a calendar year. Because of this, you will want to maximize your remaining benefits as they do not roll over into your next year’s benefits. You may also have a HSA or FSA plan that you have to use by a certain time (depending on the rules of your plan).
October is a great time to get scheduled for any needed dental appointments because some procedures require multiple appointments and the multiple appointments may require a certain amount of time between the two appointments. The holiday months fill up fast with children on winter break and students’ home from college, so thinking about scheduling now will be less stressful when trying to find a time that works. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding your insurance or your treatment and we would be more than happy to help you!
OSHA Training Seminar
OSHA Training Seminar
On Friday, September 6th our office attended the OSHA training seminar at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN. There were approximately 500 people attending the seminar from a number of different dental offices around the Twin Cities.
OSHA ensures that proper safety precautions are maintained for the work place. Some topics that were discussed included: bio-hazardous waste, fire and emergency safety, lab safety, and chemical safety. This seminar allowed our clinical staff some of their continuing education credits and was a fun team building experience.
As a gift, Ovation Orthodontics handed out funky socks and some other goodies. Our team at Tonka Smiles wore these socks today as a reminder to the motto “knock your socks off”. Thank you for the fun reminder and for the fun day!
Dental Implants Missionary Trip 2019
Dental Implants Missionary Trip 2019
Dr. Phillips spent August 8th-August 10th, 2019 on a charity mission trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. During her time in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Phillips completed 30 hours of complex implant surgeries and placed 20 dental implants on patients. She is a fellow of the International Dental Implant Association and has been recognized for her charitable service.
Dr. Phillips says her time spent on this trip was a rewarding experience and that the patients were very gracious of the treatment. We are so proud of Dr. Phillips and her service and very thankful to have her as one of our dentists at Tonka Smiles.
