To all our valuable patients:

Here in Hilo, we have all experienced an unprecedented even with Covid-19 Pandemic. But we have been fortunate, not to have experienced the surge of patients as on the mainland. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to regain some normalcy in our habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

We are so happy to be reopening on March 12, 2020 to address your dental health. Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control 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). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

• Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
• We will be checking your temperature upon arrival, ask all patients to wash their hands, and use a mouth disinfectant prior to treatment.
• You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• We have increased our air filtration system, installed additional separation, and installed an enhanced vacuum system to mitigate aerosol circulation.
• Appointments will be scheduled to allow for social distancing between patients, please be on time for your appointment so we can maintain this distance. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
• We may ask you to call us when you arrive in our parking lot and wait in your car, to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 808-934-8800 or visit our website at csugiyama.com and click on contact us.

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely, Dr. Charles Sugiyama and Staff

The Office of Dr. Charles Sugiyama is here to help with YOUR dental needs!