BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Staff Writer

Sherry Regiani knows people have concerns and fears about going back to the dentist as dental, medical and veterinary offices began reopening to non-emergency care to patients last Friday.
Regiani, from Regiani Holistic Dental Center, located at 10435 S. Ortonville Rd. Suite B in Clarkston, wants to put those fears at ease.
“A dental office is cleaner than anyplace you could ever go and that was even before COVID,” Regiani explained. “We have all been trained and it’s been engrained in us anyone could walk in your door with tuberculosis. We do screen and we do ask. We have always dealt with aerosols, and we have always done what some people may say is above and beyond measures. It’s because this is the environment we work in, too.”
She added it’s not just their office, it’s every dental office.
“We are the safest and have been the safest place to be,” Regiani said. “Because this is what you do and what you love, you are going to be as safe as you can be. I was an assistant and an hygienist many years ago. We learned about TB and airborne particles and learned you have to wear a mask to protect yourself because you never know what’s coming in. Not only do we wear masks, we wear gloves and face shields. There will be a few changes but most of them are going to minor.”
Changes include: six-foot distancing, temperature taken and when going to a dental or medical office, patients will be asked a set of health questions on the phone before appointment as well as when arrive for appointment just in case something has changed within the time frame.
“You will have your temperature taken with a touchless thermometer,” said Regiani. “In most cases it’s an inch or so away from your forehead. Your hands will be sprayed with a sanitizer or you will be asked to use a waterless sanitizer. Because we want to make sure people do it, we will spray their hands. It ensures anything you touch your hands are clean as well. We take extra precautions. We are going to ask people to call when they arrive. As we move people along, then we will let you in.”
Within the reception area, chairs will be spaced out to reflect the 6-foot social distancing. Magazines, brochures and toys for children have been removed.
“We have a coffee station that has been removed,” said Regiani. “Any office that has a water cooler, it has been turned off to prevent spread.”
All employees will continue to wear masks, gloves and face shields. The business department will now wear masks and Regiani said in their office in some cases they will wear a face shield as well. She explained it is just and extra precaution their office is taking.
Regiani explained when it comes to sanitation it’s the things people don’t see especially in the examination rooms.
“When a patient leaves a chair, all the disposables are removed,” she said, adding the items are single use items like isolation devices and saliva ejectors. “The chair is wiped down, we have to use materials approved by CDC to kill TB in about three minutes. We don’t just clean the surface of the chair, we clean the handles and under the arms. We clean every surface you can see and every doorknob.”
Every set of instruments goes into a CDC- specific washer. Regiani added instruments can be hand washed, but they don’t like them touched. The instruments go into a cassette and get cleaned in a HYDRIM, a dental version of a dishwasher.
“When the instruments come out of that they get wrapped, go into sterilizer and get sterilizer tape to show which sterilizer was used,” Regiani said. “We have three in our office. For the sterilizer, we have to send in a strip every week for evaluation to make sure they are still performing to the standard.
The instruments aren’t opened until patient is in the room.
During the visit, most hygienists use an ultrasonic cleaner like a Calvatron to clean the teeth.
Regiani Holistic Dental Center uses a dental airvac, which is external air suction on the dental chair. It sits in front of the patient’s face, very close to where they are working.
“It has a 4-5 inch opening,” Regiani said. “It sits in front of your face so it’s removing as much airborne particles as possible. We’ve been using one for 20 years. Some offices that have not had that will be purchasing because it is recommended.”
Regiani added they also use lasers.
“It’s just one more extra thing we do that we have always done just to help out,” she said. “Every dentist chooses what is the right thing for their patients.”
Regiani Holistic Dental Center opened its current office on May 1, 2014, making the move from Ortonville after 35 years.
“When we built this office, we put in air protection,” Regiani said. “We have high-speed air turnover. Every 20 minutes, the air turns over because our fans run all the time. We also put in two air purification systems. We got them in our office March 1 before this all happened, and they purify basically 3,000-square feet. It’s got UV light and it purifies the air.”
She added they also have a UV light which runs every two hours at night in the reception area.
“It sanitizes all of our soft surfaces, all the chairs, all the flooring,” Regiani said. “We run it every night, and are just making sure it’s extra clean.”
She added their patients are ready to come back because they know their dental health goes hand-in-hand with their overall health.
“People have put things off for a couple of months and a small problem doesn’t stay small,” Regiani said. “What we do is a health service. There is a direct connection between your oral health to overall health and diabetis, heart and stroke. We are getting back to normal and it will be a new normal.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-96, rescinding Executive Order 2020-17, on May 21, which prohibited non-essential/non-emergency care in medical and dental offices. With the Executive Order, Michigan dental and medical offices resumed regular treatment services, effective May 29.
Whitmer also issued a separate order, Executive Order 2020-97, updating a prior rule on workplace safety. All reopened outpatient healthcare facilities, including dental offices, must adopt strict protocols to prevent infection.
She also amended Michigan’s Stay at Home order to allow individuals to leave their homes to obtain medical and dental care.