HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2020. It came, it saw, it wreaked havoc, and left a mess a behind. At the beginning we all had bright visions of what the year would bring. January was a busy month of planning ahead, finalizing 2019 and looking forward to how we could better serve our patients and their dental needs. February was another month of greats. We hired our wonderful front desk patient coordinator Daisy. Dr. Patterson went to Patagonia and explored the beautiful area, and we spruced up the office a bit. March came and we were getting into a groove. That groove came to a screeching halt due to that nasty CORNA VIRUS. March 19th our office closed for non-emergency services. All recares, cosmetic work, consults for dentures, crowns or bridges, and any treatment that could be held off was to stop immediately. We finished up any loose ends on the 20^th and said “see you when we see you” hoping we would see everyone in 2 weeks or less. During the lockdown we communicated via text, zoom, and saw the occasional dental emergency patient. We spent time with family family dentistry colorado springs, learned new crafts, deep-cleaned houses, and went on many walks with the dogs of our office.

We hoped we would be back April 14^th.  April 14^th came, and we were told April 27^th. When the 27^th date was announced, a huge Public Health Order was also attached to it. For us to open back up we had to change the way our practice looked and operated. Being in the dental field we have always used the highest standard of dental care colorado springs and universal precautions, but with this virus we had to add more to our routines. Dr. Patterson researched a plastic barrier system and installed it, himself. He blocked off all treatment rooms, sterilization, and the entire back office to the front office.  We researched and purchased High Volume Suction systems for hygiene rooms. We searched numerous places for head bonnets, booties, additional lab coats and scrubs for the front office. We searched for thermometers, N-95 masks, and additional gloves and masks. Our front office got together all the additional paperwork that we now how to gather from patients, change our waiting room around for social distancing, and started rescheduling patients. We had game plans in case a patient or staff member contracted COVID 19. Finally, we as a staff had to come together and put each other at ease, ensuring that we had done all we could to protect our patients and our families at home.

After 6 stressful weeks, we had everything in order, (and more) we were finally able to open back up on May 4^th, 2020. The first week we started with just Dr. Patterson. The following week Taryn came back to see hygiene patients who needed to be seen right away. We had over 2 months of hygiene patients we had to reschedule, our 6 months recare appointments, and our 3 to 4 months Perio maintenance patients that needed to be scheduled, and that did not include any new patients that wanted to be seen for hygiene as well. Prior to COVID we were able to see 6-8 recare patients a day with 1-2 new patients a day. With COVID restrictions in place we are only able to see 4-5 hygiene patients a day. Our schedule started filing up quickly. We were able to bring back our 2^nd hygienist Summer in June. This gave us 2 additional days to see hygiene patients. As the summer came and went and COVID cases started to rise our hygiene schedule was going through crazy ebbs and flows. We also saw an increase in Perio Therapys because of the shutdown. Typically, the Holiday season is the busiest time of year for us. Patients are wanting to maximize their insurance and HSA benefits. Our office takes time to close to allow our staff to celebrate the holidays with their families, and our hygiene schedule is full with patients wanting to start the New Year “clean”. As December approached, we were all looking forward to the end of the year and time spent celebrating with our families. Well in true 2020 fashion we hit another bump in the road. Two of our staff members had to take time off. Our hygiene schedule again had to be re-arranged. With staff working from home, temp hygienists helping us fill in when possible we worked our tails off to get patients seen and insurances maximized. At the end of it all we all got to spend time with our families and be thankful for what a ride this year truly had been. To this day we are still catching up with hygiene patients from the shutdown. We are booked out 6 weeks for hygiene and a week and a half for Dr. Patterson. We are doing our best to get everyone in and appreciate your understanding with our hygiene schedule.

We would not be successful and where we are without our wonderful Dentist in Colorado Springs, who delivers exceptional care and up to date treatment, our amazing dental assistants who go above and beyond for all, our talented hygienists who provide top-notch hygiene and educational services and our front desk who greet every patient with a smile and the attention they deserve. We also would not be anything without you, our faithful patients. We are so thrilled you have chosen us to take care of your dental needs’ and consider all who come into our dental clinic colorado springs a part of our family.

Thank you and Happy New Year from all of us here at Mountain Springs Advanced Dental. We made it through 2020 together!!!