Time to Smile Together!
Updated June 1, 2020
Dear Oyster Bay Orthodontics Community,
I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. I have looked forward to writing this note to let you know that our office will be opening soon and we are excited to welcome you. 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 oral healthcare and your safety.
During our downtime at Oyster Bay Orthodontics, we’ve been hard at work. We’ve participated in educational webinars in Enhanced Infection Control, CDC Guidelines, Universal Precautions and Social Distancing, collaborated with colleagues, and expanded our PPE inventory.
I’ve made modifications in how we run our office to protect you and your family, as well as my employees. As you see these changes and experience new protocols/guidelines, I want you to rest assured that we have your family’s safety and well-being foremost in mind. I thank you in advance for your patience with re-scheduling missed appointments, limiting one family member in the reception area and other measures mandated by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the State of New York.
Infection control has always been a top priority, and you may have noticed this during your visits to our office. We have established infection control processes that have been in place for the safety and comfort of our patients and for our own protection as well.
We have added some safety controls on top of our normal procedures for added precaution and want to make sure you know what to expect as you return to see us. Our affiliation with the ADA, CDC, and OSHA ensures 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 are taking to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. We expect to re-open our office on Wednesday June 3rd for routine appointments.
We will be contacting you to schedule an appointment in the coming days. We ask you to please be patient with us as we work hard to get everyone scheduled. We are going to have extended hours and additional days to accommodate and take care of every single patient in a timely manner. Patients in active treatment who haven’t been seen the longest (since late January or early February) and those in a critical stage of treatment will be scheduled first.
As you plan for your visit please make note of the following to ensure everyone’s safety. 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. Rasouli
It’s A New Normal
What To Do Before You Arrive
Complete the Supplemental Informed Consent and Health History forms on our secure website at https://oysterbayorthodontics.com/our-office/patient-forms/ within 24 hours of your appointment time, preferably a few hours before the appointment. A minor patient without a Consent/Health History Form and no parent/guardian to complete at the office will have their appointment rescheduled.
If you should feel poorly or have a temperature, please call and reschedule your appointment as we will not be able to see you.
Brush your teeth at home. Our tooth brushing stations are currently closed to eliminate transfer of bacteria or viruses.
Wear a mask, bandana or scarf to your appointment.
Arrival Protocol
Arrive 5 minutes before your appointment time. Call our office at 516-802-5699 and let us know that you have arrived.
At this time, we’re only able to welcome the patient and one adult into the office. Anyone who enters the office must wear a mask/face covering at all times except when being treated. A Wellness Screening will be performed upon entry for the patient as well as the accompanying adult.
Patients must wash or sanitize their hands before they’re seated. Patients may be asked to rinse with 1% hydrogen peroxide prior to certain procedures.
Social distancing, whenever possible, will be practiced; this may include limited seating or a closure of our waiting room. Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients.
Update March 17, 2020
The COVID-19 situation in New York is one of the most serious in the nation so far. As the facts and situation around COVID-19 continue to evolve, and they do change on an almost daily basis, in step with Governor Cuomo’s recent Declaration of a State of Emergency, New York State Dental Association Board of Trustees has issued the following guidance for dentists in New York:
At this time, it is recommended that dental offices provide only emergency dental care for patients. Elective and non-emergent services should be postponed for a minimum of three weeks. That policy shall be revisited at that time to accommodate further developments regarding COVID-19 and further actions/recommendations from government agencies.
In accordance with this recommendation, we will be closing the office for 3 weeks.
All appointments will be rescheduled. We will be in the office for limited hours during this time to handle phone calls, schedule appointments and prepare to re-open on Monday, April 6th. We will be available to take care of emergencies as described in our March 16th notice.
Please check for further updates on our social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram.
March 16, 2020
We wanted to reach out personally regarding the current situation with the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19. Each day brings new developments and our hearts go out to all affected. Please know that we are monitoring the situation closely.
At Oyster Bay Orthodontics, we are doing our part to keep safety a priority for everyone. You have placed your trust in us to oversee the oral health of you or your family member, and we take that job seriously. We want you to know we are doing everything we can to protect our patients, their families and our employees from the ongoing spread of COVID-19.
We are monitoring directives that are issued to us by the State of New York and other national organizations including the CDC and the dental society leadership as it evolves. We want to meet and exceed guidelines as we work with our patients.
What We Are Doing to Keep You Safe
•Maintaining our current OSHA directives related to the dental industry standards for sterilization of dental instruments and cleaning and sanitizing hard surfaces used during appointments
•Eliminating handshakes and any type of bodily contact that is not specifically related to your current appointment
•Minimizing all newly scheduled appointments which are reasonably possible into a 6-12 week schedule for as long as needed – current appointments remain as scheduled •Offering virtual retainer checkups where applicable or reschedule to a later date
•Asking patients to send photos of emergencies first, via email, so we can troubleshoot issues to determine if an appointment in the office is of immediate urgency
•Removing magazines, coffee and snacks from our reception area and suspending iPad usage
What You Can Do to Help Us During Appointments
•Should you, your child, or a close family member have any flu-like symptoms (cough, runny nose, sore throat and/or fever), please call your physician, and then call us to reschedule your appointment.
•To minimize the number of people in the office, we request parents only bring the patient being treated to the office and leave all siblings home. •If this is not possible, consider having the family stay in the car while the patient is treated. We can call you to send the patient in when we are ready and schedule your next visit the same way after the appointment is completed.
•Any family members that have traveled to any countries with Level 3 or 4 Travel Restrictions within 14 days of their scheduled visit will require rescheduling. In that event, please call our office to find a more appropriate time. Likewise, if anyone in the family is aware of having been exposed to anyone testing positive to COVID-19, please call to reschedule.
•Please have your child/you brush your teeth before coming to the office. For future updates, I encourage you to check our website or social media on Facebook and Instagram. We at Oyster Bay Orthodontics appreciate your trust and will continue to work every day to provide the best and safest orthodontic care
