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COVID UPDATE – August 2020

By August 25, 2020May 2nd, 2023Blog

Dear Patients + Families of Houston Orthodontic Specialists,

We are continuing with extra safety precautions to keep our patients and staff safe and healthy.

Safety for you, your family, and our team is our highest priority.

We will continue to provide all our patients with a questionnaire (which must be completed prior to your appointment to identify patients who have travelled to certain countries, are experiencing flu-like symptoms or have been around others who have experienced flu-like symptoms). This will need to be completed prior to every visit.

COVID 19 QUESTIONNAIRE

  • A temperature screening will be done for doctors, staff, patients and accompanying family members. Anyone presented with a fever of 100 F/37.7 C will need to be rescheduled in accordance with CDC guidelines.
  • Masks are required while in our office for all adults and all kids over the age of 2. If you do not have a mask, we will happily provide one for you!
  • Please wash your hands in our clinical area prior to being seated for your appointment and prior to leaving our clinic after your appointment.
  • We have temporarily closed our beverage area, tech bar, game area, and removed all magazines from our waiting areas.
  • Please brush your teeth prior to your appointment, as brushing stations have been temporarily closed.

SCHEDULING

  • To provide our highest level of protection, we will be scheduling according to appointment type and risk level of the procedure. For example, routine adjustments, growth check-ups, and Invisalign scans will be seen together. The appointments requiring the use of dental handpieces and air and water use, such as placing or removing braces, require higher measures of protection and will be scheduled accordingly.
  • Some appointment types like retainer checks are done only virtually to minimize risk and exposure for our patients and to limit capacity in-office.
  • We understand that flexibility is important in this unprecedented time, and we are here for you! We offer appointments as late as 6:30 Pm on Wednesdays, and we are open Fridays and Saturdays!

CONCIERGE TEAM

To provide you with the best service, we have added a Concierge Program to guide you through your visits with us. Due to restrictions on the number of guests that we can have in our facilities at one time, our Concierge Team will facilitate your check-ins, procedures, and check-outs. We will anticipate your arrival, check you in for your appointment, and even deliver aligners from the comfort and safety of your car! When it is time for your appointment, we will let you know and guide you to your appropriate treatment area. A greeting space is set up in front of our reception where we can read temperatures to ensure everyone’s safety.

We love siblings and visitors at our practice but during this time we ask that you help us in minimizing the number of people who enter our office for an appointment. We understand this may present a challenge as schools are closed, but we ask unless it’s necessary that only 1 parent/guardian accompanies your child to their appointment and adults come alone.

VIRTUAL SERVICES AVAILABLE

Our virtual appointments are available to all new and existing patients! New patients can schedule virtual consultations from the comfort of your home. For those in treatment with our practice, we are able to offer virtual visits, allowing you the option of virtual check-ups with our doctors and staff. Our virtual options will allow for the ultimate level of convenience by eliminating trips to the office while assuring that you are receiving the highest level of care that you have grown to expect under the direct supervision of our team. Call us to learn more!

We continue to closely monitor local and federal regulations and guidelines to ensure our community is safe. We are excited to be able to service our patients at our state of the art facilities in Bellaire and West Houston, along with virtual visits.

Continue to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates, or if you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@houstonortho.com.

With gratitude,
The Doctors and Staff of Houston Orthodontic Specialists