Wellness Update

Your team at Elite Dental is committed to helping you maintain optimal oral health in a clean and safe environment.  Regular exams and cleanings are an important part of your oral and overall health.  Please know that we enjoy helping all of our patients at what ever stage they are in achieve their best smile.  If you need our help getting back on track, there is no need to feel embarrassed about your absence from the dental chair. We are always happy to welcome you at Elite Dental.

As always, dental visits should take place when you are free of illness.  If you have signs or symptoms of being sick, please contact Elite Dental at 563-875-8386 to reschedule. 

Masks are always available at the entry and can be used by patients and those that accompany them as desired.

Thank you for trusting Dr. Julie and the Elite Dental Care Team with your smile.  We look forward to seeing you and your family soon!

Elite Dental COVID-19 Update

Dear Elite Dental Family,

We hope this update finds you and your family in good health.  We are thankful for our patients who have committed to maintaining their dental health through this time and for trusting the Elite Dental team to provide a clean and safe environment.  We are still missing some patients that have not yet returned to regular exams and cleanings and would like to invite them to schedule soon to ensure your dental health remains a priority.  Please see below the items you need to know before coming to an appointment:

·         If a patient has any signs of illness (fever, cough, sore throat, GI upset, diarrhea, or any other sign of illness) prior to their dental visit, they should contact Elite Dental at 563-875-8386 to reschedule.

·         Wear a mask in our office unless you are receiving dental care in the patient chair.

·         You will be asked a COVID-19 screening question to ensure all guidelines are being met.

Thank you for being part of the Elite Dental Family.  We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to continuing to help you have a healthy smile.

Sincerely,

Dr. Julie Koch-Womer and the Elite Dental Team

Reopening after COVID-19 Closure

Dear Elite Dental Family,

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

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

· Our team will communicate with you prior to your appointment, asking you to complete a new health history indicating all health conditions and medications. We will also ask some COVID-19 screening questions and ask you to take your own temperature and record it for us.

· If a patient has any new signs of illness (fever, cough, sore throat, GI upset, diarrhea, or any other sign of illness) prior to their dental visit, they should contact Elite Dental at 563-875-8386 to reschedule.

· On the day of your appointment, call or text us at 563-875-8386 to let us know when you have arrived. You will again be asked the COVID-19 screening questions. You may be asked to reschedule your appointment.

· Patients will generally be asked to wait in their vehicle until we are ready for you to start your appointment. If you need to utilize our reception area, know that we will have fewer chairs and we will no longer offer reading material or children’s toys.

· Please be aware that we will be keeping the clinical areas of our building at a cooler temperature than usual due to the extra layers we are required to wear. You may wish to dress warmer than usual and bring a coat or sweater.

· When you arrive at our office, please wear a mask. Upon entry, we will take your temperature and ask you to use hand sanitizer.

· Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.

· We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

· If you already have an appointment scheduled, you may receive a phone call from us asking to change the date or time. We appreciate your understanding as we adjust to this new way to provide dental services.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice as you have likely noticed during previous 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 our patients and team safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Iowa Dental Board, 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.

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 or text our office at 563-875-8386. You may wish to visit our website for additional practice information at DyersvilleSmiles.com

Thank you for being part of the Elite Dental Family. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Julie Koch-Womer and the Elite Dental Team

COVID-19 Update

Dear Elite Dental Family,

We hope this update finds you in good health during these uncertain times.  I know many of us are nervous and anxious about the uncertainty of the next few months. We want you, our dental family and community, to be safe and well cared for. To this end, we wanted to lay out our updated plan as we navigate the coming weeks.

Per our last update, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Kim Reynolds executive order that impacts all dental offices in Iowa, we have temporarily reduced our hours of operation. The Iowa Dental Board is allowing us to see emergent care patients.  This means if you are in pain or have a current or pending dental need that cannot wait a month, we can see you for care or help you to a specialist for care.

We will be checking our voicemail daily Monday-Friday and are working to create a schedule to accommodate those with dental needs. You can let us know of your concern by contacting our office at 563-875-8386.

At Elite Dental, the health and safety of our patients and team is our top priority.  We understand the community needs everyone to be responsible in preventing the spread of COVID-19. We appreciate your understanding. We look forward to welcoming each of you back to our office in the near future. Until then, stay healthy and safe!

Sincerely,

Elite Dental Team

COVID-19 UPDATE

Dear Elite Dental Family,

We hope this update finds you in good health during these uncertain times. 

Your Elite Dental Team continues to keep the health and safety of our patients, team, and community as our top priority. With this in mind, we monitor current information and recommendations closely. At this time, we are continuing to reschedule patients with non-emergent dental appointments as is recommended by the Iowa Dental Association and American Dental Association. All patients with prescheduled appointments affected by this are being contacted by our team. If you are experiencing a dental emergency such as dental pain, swelling, or tooth trauma, please call the office at 563-875-8386 so we may help you. Our team will be updating you as we have more information to share. Please do all you can to stay safe and healthy!

Sincerely,

Elite Dental Team

Virtual Dental Evaluation Services from Elite Dental During COVID-19 Pandemic

Informed Consent for Virtual Dental Evaluation Services from Elite Dental During COVID-19 Pandemic

Our dental office will be using available remote communication technology to conduct problem-focused evaluations/re-evaluations virtually, to help manage your oral health problem and to determine whether you have a condition that requires immediate in-office treatment. During the current pandemic the federal government announced that it will not enforce HIPAA regulations (privacy for health records) in connection with medical and dental offices’ good faith provision of medical or dental services using non-public facing audio or video remote communications services. Remote patient consultations may take place over applications that allow video chats such as Apple Face Time, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts, or Skype and may involve or be based on photos or videos taken with smart phones by the patient and transmitted to the dental office. Please do not contact us using public-facing services such as Facebook Live, Twitch, or TikTok, which are not permitted by the federal government for this purpose. As always, our office will take dental record confidentiality very seriously, and will do what we can under the circumstances to protect the information you send us. While we believe the risk to such confidentiality is not high, it may be greater than it would be if these remote electronic communications were encrypted, which is one of the main HIPAA requirements that is being relaxed during the nationwide COVID-19 public health emergency. Certain major dental plans have announced that they will reimburse dental offices for conducting such remote evaluations, and we will submit claims in connection with them. Our dental office is using one or more of the permitted modalities listed above for remote transmission of information to conduct limited problem focused evaluations. While entirely adequate in the vast majority of cases for such limited purposes, these evaluations may not reveal conditions that would be discovered during an office visit or through the use of specialized teledentistry technology.

COVID-19

Dear Elite Dental Family,

Due to new information relating to the spread of Coronavirus or CO-VID-19, and new efforts now being
taken by the state and nation to contain it, we will be rescheduling all non-urgent/non-emergent appointments for this week. Our team will be updating you as we have more information to share. Our desire is to keep our patients and team healthy and safe. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause
and appreciate your patience with us during this time. All patients with scheduled appointments will be contacted by our team. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Your Elite Dental Team

ELITE DENTAL, DYERSVILLE OPENS NEW DENTAL OFFICE

Elite Dental is excited to announce the opening of a new state-of-the-art dental office located at 1410 9th Street SE in Dyersville, across from Beckman High School and next to American Trust & Savings Bank.  Elite Dental operated in a previous facility at the same location for 15 years.  Owner and founder Dr. Julie Koch-Womer states, “I very much appreciate the community support we have had at Elite Dental over the past 15 years. There is no greater privilege than to serve the families of this community as your dentist.  Demand for our services has grown and we outgrew the capacity of the former office. This facility has allowed us to double our clinical space and have room for additional future growth. We really appreciate how understanding our patients and neighbors have been during the construction.”

Elite Dental’s office is outfitted with the latest dental technology, including digital x-rays, digital impressions, Nomad x-ray device, and CariVu, which allows the dentist to electronically examine multiple layers inside the teeth. They also offer Invisalign Orthodontic services.  Invisalign is a clear no-wire alternative to braces for straightening teeth. Dr. Julie says, “It is fun and amazing to see the results and smile improvements with this method of tooth alignment.  Invisalign is popular with adults and some teens looking for an alternative to traditional metal braces.  Cosmetic dentistry including Invisalign, cosmetic restorative work, and implants allow me to give patients their smile back.” Dr. Julie loves providing all aspects of general dentistry to the entire family. “There is so much I love about being a dentist. Helping children have a positive first start to dental care and keeping them healthy is very rewarding. I also enjoy providing dental care to new patients, including helping those who may not have received regular dental care in the past feel better and enjoy the benefits of improved dental health. It is heartwarming to provide them with a positive, comfortable experience at Elite Dental.”

Elite Dental enjoys seeing patients of all ages and like the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry & The American Dental Association, Dr. Julie recommends her patients have their first dental visit by the age of one year old.

Dr. Julie wishes to express her appreciation to her Uncle, Jerry Koch, general contractor for the building project, “He was extremely instrumental from initial planning to implementation of the construction plan, and served as a key advisor with everything associated with this building project. I don’t think I could have completed this project without his support.” Elite Dental wishes to thank all the local skilled crafts people who built our new state-of-the-art facility. Dr. Julie also wishes to thank American Trust and Savings Bank for their support of the project. Dr. Julie notes, “The community has been so supportive of me and this project. In small towns, it is so important for businesses to work together and support each other. Everyone has been wonderful.”

To support their continuing growth, Elite Dental is will be searching for an additional general dentist to join their outstanding team.

Elite Dental is accepting new patients.

Dr. Julie Koch-Womer graduated from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree after attending Loras College for her undergraduate studies in Biology. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, Iowa Dental Association, Dubuque District Dental Society, and Dubuque County Dental Association.She has completed mini-residencies in pediatric dentistry and restorative implant dentistry & is Invisalign certified.