With dental offices reopening around the country, it’s likely your next dental appointment will look and feel a little different as new safety protocols are implemented.
Below, Drs. Hartman and Morrow explain the steps their office, Elite Dental, has taken to allow patients to receive dental care safely amidst COVID-19. Dentistry is essential health care, so if you have questions regarding your own office’s safety, give them a call and ask about their safety measures to ensure your comfort in returning.
Personal Protective Equipment
Your clinical team is outfitted with the highest level of PPE including an N95 mask layered with a level 3 mask, glasses, face shield, gloves, head covering, lab jacket and office-designated shoes. We promise, we’re still the same smiling faces behind all this gear!
Screening
A temperature check is completed before any patient comes into our office, followed by completion of a COVID-19 screening form. Our team also has their temperature tested twice a day, we’re in it with you!
Appointments
We’ve lengthened our appointments and staggered start times to minimize traffic in our office and limit the number of people you come in contact with. You can also expect to be kept separate in our waiting space and during check-out.
Pre-Rinse
We have each patient rinse for 30 seconds with a peroxyl mouthwash. This rinse is important as it reduces the viral load in your saliva, which minimizes potentially unhealthy aerosolized droplets in the air of treatment rooms.
Isolation
During procedures that produce aerosols, we use a specialized suctioning device, the Isolite, that significantly minimizes any aerosols from escaping into the air.
Air Filtration
With the previously mentioned precautions, there should be minimal unwanted droplets in the air. However, you’ll also find multiple medical grade air filters with a rating of HEPA-13 to help clean and purify, ensuring clean air for each patient.
General Cleaning
While we always clean surfaces thoroughly and to OSHA standards, we’ve ensured all waiting room surfaces, door handles and any high traffic areas are sanitized multiple times throughout the day.
We can’t stress enough how important it is to maintain your regular cleanings, and that prevention is key for your gum and overall tooth health. There IS a way to receive dental care safely, now is not the time to put off treatment that could cause dental emergencies down the road!
Dr. Hartman and Dr. Morrow practice at Elite Dental in Arlington. Call 703-988-6963 or visit their website to schedule an appointment!
Recent Stories

St. Charles offers a play-based curriculum in a welcoming, Christ-centered environment.
Our program focuses on socio-emotional development and kindergarten readiness through hands-on and engaging activities. Our programs offer different schedules ranging from 7:30 am-5:30 pm for students, ages 2-5. We feature a full-day Jr. kindergarten class for older 4’s/5’s. Our facility includes a full-sized gymnasium, school chapel, and library. All of our students enjoy music and physical education weekly. Children have an opportunity to participate in enrichment classes such as soccer, basketball, ballet, and science.
We offer Summer Camp with weekly themes and twice a week water play, including Fun Friday moon bounce. Please join us for our Open House Feb. 3 at 9:30 am and 11:00 am. Click here to sign-up.
For more information or to schedule a tour, visit us at www.stcharlesarlington.org or call (703) 527-0608.

If you are a lifelong learner over 50+ who wants to make new friends, power up your brain, and enjoy a wide-variety college-level courses, Encore Learning is for you. An Arlington based nonprofit, Encore Learning offers courses in the arts, theater, literature, history, technology and more. This semester we offer our most popular course, Global Hot Spots as well as 25 new courses. Courses are presented either online or in-person at George Mason University at Virginia Square and other Arlington locations.
Join the free presentation to learn about courses and meet the instructors. This is Encore Learning’s signature event to highlight the upcoming semester with brief presentations by each instructor.
The Spring Course Preview event is Thursday, February 2nd at 9:30 AM via Zoom:
First-time Moms Meet & Greet
The truth, your first pregnancy and new mom months are full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and lots of questions! None of us really know the best way to do it – we just figure it out, together…
Live Standup Comedy Starring Casey James Salengo (Jimmy Kimmel Live,…
Casey James Salengo is a NYC based comedian who’s been featured on Comedy Central Presents, Jimmy Kimmel Live, This Week at the Cellar, and HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. He performs at clubs, bars, road houses, carnival tents, erotic book