Greetings from Tam Dental Group,
As you may be aware the Prime Minister has announced that we have been upgraded to a Level 4 Lockdown due to the need to contain and diffuse the COVID-19 pandemic. At this level, people are asked to isolate for a month and stay at home with all non-essential services being closed. As an oral health practitioner we have a new directive from The Ministry of Health and New Zealand Dental Council as of March 22nd 2020 that mandates the suspension of ’all non-essential and elective dental services’ because of the high risk of transmission posed by working in the oral cavity and generating aerosol. This includes all hygiene, preventative and restorative dental treatment.
We believe that the health and wellbeing of our community, including patients and staff, must take precedence at times like these and we must do our part to reduce the risk of community transmission however we can. We are therefore following the above directive and closing our practice until deemed safe to reopen according to the Ministry of Health.
For you, this means any upcoming appointments with us will be postponed until further notice. At this stage there is no definitive date that we can resume practicing so we will be in contact with a rescheduled appointment when it is safe for us to do so.
Although a delay in treatment can be frustrating, this is an unforeseen development and we deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause. We will continue to update you as new developments regarding your treatment arise and endeavour to continue your treatment as soon as we can, but must comply in interests of the health and safety of our community.
Thank you for your understanding at this time.
Again, we offer you our deepest apologies for this inconvenience and will be in touch with you as required.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or feel that you are experiencing an acute dental emergency. Dr. Tam (+64 21 833543) remains on call for Newmarket and Dr. Chang (+64 21 277 7708) for Devonport. We will refer you to an emergency center as required after triaging your specific concerns as below:
Emergency Center: Westlake Dental Specialists (North Shore)
Address: Westlake Dental Specialists Ground Floor/15 Shea Terrace, Takapuna, North Shore City 0622
Address: 52 Saint Lukes Road, Mount Albert, Auckland 1025
Stay safe and we will get through this together. Look forward to designing smiles that will invigorate your confidence and personality post-COVID19.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Clarence Tam
*Dental emergencies are defined by the New Zealand Dental Association as oral-facial trauma, significant infection, prolonged bleeding or pain which cannot be managed by medications.
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Dr. Clarence Tam, HBSc, DDS, FIADFE, AAACD
Cosmetic and General Dentistry
18 Morrow Street
Newmarket, Auckland 1052
(09) 524-8399 (practice)
(021) 833 543 (mobile)
www.clarencetam.co.nz
Chairperson
New Zealand Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
www.nzacd.co.nz