Doctor's Page: Referrals and Resources

You may refer patients to our office by filling out our secure online Referral Form. After you have completed the form, please make sure to press the Complete and Send button at the bottom to automatically send us your information. The security and privacy of patient data is one of our primary concerns and we have taken every precaution to protect it.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Reflecting on our recent conversion to negative pressure airflow in our treatment rooms to remove lingering aerosols, my thoughts shifted to the recovery room, which post-anesthesia patients and their parents can occupy for an hour or more. We do not yet know the level of risk pathogens, and the coronavirus in particular, lingering in the air might pose for the next patient entering the room. The logic of various directives from the CDC and other sources led me to conclude that enhancing air exchange in our recovery area would provide an added layer of protection from viruses and other pathogens. I had a negative pressure air exchanger installed in our recovery area for that reason, and the work was just completed. Throughout the course of a day, each successive patient occupying the recovery room now breathes entirely different air than the previous patient, thanks to 17 room air exchanges per hour.

This gives us the same negative pressure airflow in our treatment and recovery rooms. Enhanced air exchange increases safety for your family of referred patients and our staff. We are pleased to offer this protection, and will continue to monitor upcoming data, guidelines and recommendations to stay on the front edge of protection against COVID-19.

Stay healthy,

Dr. Brent Florine

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Previous laboratory testing had shown that bipolar ionization is effective against other coronaviruses, so we presumptively and optimistically installed ionizers early on in the COVID crisis. Testing completed last month concluded that bipolar ionization at 30 minutes neutralizes 99.4% of the SARS CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19. The full report is included as a PDF attachment  if you are interested in the details.

Bipolar ionization now creates a plasma field of positive and negative hydrogen and oxygen ions from water vapor in the air going through the forced air system of our office ventilation. These ions attach to very small particles including viruses, somewhat akin to static electricity, and by agglutination produce clumps of larger particles  that are easily filtered and removed from the air by the HVAC system. The ions also disrupt and denature the protein surface envelopes of viruses, bacteria and molds to destroy their pathogenicity. These denatured particles no longer cause disease even if inhaled.


Bipolar Ionization Device

We are pleased to offer this air quality protection to your patients and our staff. 

Stay Healthy,

Dr. Brent Florine

Dear Colleagues and Friends, 

As we reopen for elective procedures, our highest concern remains the safety of both your patients and our staff. Like all of us, we have made changes to our reception area to assure physical distance, and are following Minnesota Board of Dentistry, CDC and OSHA protocols for all aspects of patient encounters.

What else are we doing to protect your patients from COVID-19?

  •      Improved air quality with full room air exchange between patients

In response to COVID-19, we recently upgraded the ventilation system in our treatment rooms to provide negative pressure airflow. This completely replaces room air between patients with over 17 room air exchanges per hour, so your patient will breathe entirely different air than the previous patient in the room. Complete air exchange eliminates viruses or bacteria that may linger in the air following aerosol-producing procedures, and provides an extra layer of protection for patients and staff.

  •     Bipolar ionization of circulating air

All air circulating in our office is now purified by a bipolar ionization process, which creates a field of positive and negative ions from water vapor in the air going through the HVAC system. Somewhat akin to the attractive properties of static electricity, the ions cluster around micro particles,  including viruses, and through agglomeration produce clumps of larger particles easily filtered and removed from the air. The ions also pull hydrogen atoms from the protein surface coats of viruses, bacteria, and molds. This loss of hydrogen destroys the viability of envelopes and spikes of virus surface structures on a molecular level, so the virus cannot infect even if it enters the body. This process has been demonstrated as effective against previous coronaviruses, and testing is underway to see if the same is true for the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. We chose not to wait for proof, and proactively installed the ionization equipment to enhance our indoor air quality.

We are committed to protecting your patients and our staff from COVID-19, and are taking an aggressive approach to changes in how we do things. If a suggestion, recommendation or guideline is made, rest assured we will be aware of it, and implement more changes if there is a reasonable amount of science to back it up.

Stay well,

Dr. Brent Florine

Helpful Resources (click on the description)

Source

AHA Antibiotic Prophylaxis Guidelines

Dr. Brent Florine, DDS

Dr. Brent Florine is the staff Oral Surgeon at Oral Surgery Care. He attended the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, the Louisiana State University and Charity Hospital in New Orleans, and the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics for his dental and oral and maxillofacial surgery training.

He is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and has practiced oral surgery in Eagan since 1987. He maintains teaching appointments at the University of Minnesota, the Veterans Administration Medical Center and Hennepin County Medical Center.