Office Happenings

What you can expect at your next appointment

by Scott Gradwell
WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR APPOINTMENT:
While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety. We are doing our very best to provide you with the same high level of care and attention to detail that you have become accustomed to receiving at each appointment.
We will continue to follow the sterilization and disinfection guidelines provided by the CDC and OSHA. As you can imagine, these guidelines have changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and we are committed to making the necessary changes to follow the new, updated guidelines with additional direction from the American Academy of Periodontology, the American Dental Association, and the Pennsylvania Dental Association.
You will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff:
* 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.
* You must wear a mask while in our office.
* Taking everyone’s temperature when they enter the office
* Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at one time.
* Continuing personal protective equipment for our team including our front desk staff
* Limiting the number of people who accompany a patient, if you must be accompanied please limit it to one person.
We are doing our very best to get your next appointment scheduled in a timely manner. We respectfully ask that you give us some grace as we work to get everyone seen. We value your trust and loyalty and we are happy to welcome back our patients.

Welcome Back!! :)

by Scott Gradwell
We will be returning to the office starting Friday, May 29th!!!! 😊  We are working hard to prepare the office to ensure a safe environment for your dental care.
We are so thankful to be back in the office! 😁 Proper PPE is being used and following the CDC guidelines for our patient and staff safety. DOH released an update to the dental health care guidance as part of the commonwealth’s phased COVID-19 reopening plan. This new guidance allows dental health care providers the ability to safely provide oral healthcare, including routine cleanings. This guidance is effective statewide.

Office Temporarily Closed :(

by Scott Gradwell
Under the guidance of the American Dental Association in response to the threat of COVID-19 or coronavirus and because the health of our patients and team is our top priority, our office is closed effective Friday, March 20. We will keep you posted when the office will be opening back up.
We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of these changes. Please contact us regarding canceled appointments, and we will get back to you as soon as possible about rescheduling. Thank you for your patience as we take the actions necessary to respond to this public health issue.

Congratulations Dr. Gradwell

by Scott Gradwell

The International College of Dentists USA Section presented Dr. Gradwell with a membership as a Fellow for conspicuous service rendered in the art and science of Dentistry.

The International College of Dentists (ICD) is the pre-eminent honorary organization of the world’s outstanding dentists involved in “Serving Others”.  The ICD is dedicated to the recognition of outstanding professional achievement, meritorious service and the continued progress in the profession of dentistry for the benefit of all humankind.

Dr. Gradwell exemplifies the core values of integrity, leadership, and service and was inducted as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists at its 85th Annual Convocation in San Francisco, California this past weekend.

 

Dr. Gradwell is home safe from his medical mission trip to Malawi, Africa!

by Scott Gradwell

Dr. Gradwell and his family are home safe from the medical/dental mission trip to Malawi, Africa.  He started the portable dental clinic 4 years ago and it has grown to 3 chairs and 2 working dental units. The units run by a generator purchased by Dr. Gradwell in 2018.   A far cry from the plastic patio chair and a headlamp when he first went.

Dr. Gradwell saw 283 patients in the Kalina Clinic in Zomba providence in Malawi.  He has a passion for outreach and is blessed to be on this team.  Villages in Partnership is the non-profit organization that sponsors the medical team.  This year we saw 5,502 patients in total.  God has worked through each person on the team to achieve such a wonderful goal.

One of the patients was a 97-year-old woman that they treated in the back of a land cruiser because she was too weak to enter the clinic area.  She required an extraction of a severely infected tooth and given antibiotics. (Picture below)

They did village home visits where locals were given blankets and clothing.  Dr. Gradwell’s son, Sean was especially moved by this as seen in one of the photos below.

Another photo below is of Dr. Gradwell cleaning one of the dental therapist’s teeth.  Titus is a dental therapist who works for the Malawian government.  On these mission trips, Titus, works VIP and volunteers his time to help treat the needs of the dental patients in the village.

Fortunately, right now it is winter in Africa so the temps hovered in the 70’s.  It was a perfect temperature to work and helped keep us all busy during our daily clinics.

    

Dr. Gradwell is back in Malawi, Africa on a medical mission trip

by Scott Gradwell

Dr. Gradwell left this past Sunday for another medical mission trip to Malawi, Africa. Please keep him and his team in your prayers. We have been in limited contact with him, below is our latest update from him that he wanted us to share with all of you!
We, meaning myself and two talented Malawian dentists, saw 96 patients in the dental clinic today. 96! And I am confident the next few days the numbers will be even higher and that’s because access to care and dental supplies is so limited here. The government dental clinics have not had any lidocaine for the past three months so they have not been able to perform any extractions. Can you imagine having to wait for months to have a painful, decaying tooth extracted? With poor access to care, extractions are the most frequent and required treatment option for the villagers and care in these remote villages is done without electricity or running water. With the commitment of our Malawian partners and with support from my colleagues in the US we are trying to shift that paradigm. Each year that I have returned to this community we have brought additional materials and equipment to support more treatment options. In 2014, we were only able to provide extractions and we did so with patients sitting in two plastic lawn chairs. Today we have three Asceptico dental chairs a generator and portable dental handpieces. This year we added a portable cavitron machine which will allow us the ability to clean teeth and treat periodontal disease. We also brought restorative materials for doing dental fillings, meaning we can repair teeth instead of extracting them. All of this equipment is used during monthly dental clinics run by VIP (Villages in Partnership). It’s exciting and invigorating to impact such critical needs and to do so in a great partnership with my Malawian dental colleagues. It’s time for bed now because hundreds will be waiting tomorrow. 2nd update: 90 patients were seen today!

MOM-n-PA Dental Mission

by Scott Gradwell

This past weekend, Dr. Gradwell and Dr. Freedman volunteered their time working at MOM-n-PA dental mission at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Scranton, PA where they ran Radiology!
Over 1,600 people treated in two days by over 200 dentists and 1,000 lay volunteers.
Next year it will be in Philadelphia!