Dear Patients + Families of Houston Orthodontic Specialists,
We cannot believe it has been 5 weeks since we have seen you at our office. We are so excited to see all of you back at our practice beginning on May 11th. We have chosen this date to ensure complete preparation considering the logistics and safety of our staff and patients. The health and safety of our patients and staff are of utmost importance to us. We have used this interim time to meet with leading experts at the state and federal level with the goal of emerging out of the COVID crisis ahead of the curve.
For the immediate future, we will “look a bit different” when you see us, as we will be protecting our team and our patients with the latest recommended PPE needed for your next appointment. We have all of the latest sterilization protocols in place to ensure that our facilities and clinics are clean, sterile and ready for your arrival. Our reception areas are being rearranged to allow for the recommended six-foot social distancing during your visit. Appointment scheduling has been adjusted to allow time for enhanced cleaning and sterilization measures. Rest assured, your treatment area will meet the strictest standards for your protection and peace of mind. Further, at the end of every workday, we have contracted a professional cleaning service to provide an added measure of disinfection and sterilization for our entire office.
While Texas has reopened for business, it’s necessary to be cautious and to gradually return to normal. For your safety, implemented precautions will continue at our office.
Safety For You, Your Family, and Our Team is Our Highest Mission
- 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). 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.
- 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, candy wall, 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.
- 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 checkups, and Invisalign scans will be seen together. The appointments requiring use of dental handpieces and use of air and water, such as placing or removing braces require higher measures of protection and will be scheduled accordingly. Our team will begin contacting you for appointments next week!
- 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
In our time away we have been hard at work developing our service offerings. One of those is our new virtual platform. 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 visits 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.
We will continue to closely monitor local and federal regulations and guidelines to ensure our community is safe. We are excited to see you all back and continue with your orthodontic journey. We have taken full advantage of our time away in order to offer you the highest level of protection and will reopen with an even higher level of service and convenience than before. We are excited to let you know that our entire team has completed the Ritz Carlton Service Excellence Seminar. We appreciate your understanding, patience and help during this time in working together for a safe community and office. We are grateful for your loyalty and we look forward to seeing your smiling faces again! We love you, miss you and will see you soon.
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.
Thank you,
The Doctors and Staff of Houston Orthodontic Specialists
