Taking a Bite out of Corona, Part 2!

To all of our friends and family,

We hope you are all doing well and we want to thank you for your part in helping us flatten the curve. We realize that being closed to all patients except emergencies has been hard on everyone and we appreciate your understanding this past month. We are all ready to go and are just waiting for our Texas State Dental Board to give us the green light!

In preparation for our reopening, we have implemented a few new protocols (in addition to our daily protocols that were included in Part 1) that will help ensure your safety and the safety of our staff when you come in for your next appointment.

1. If you are feeling sick, have a fever, or have been in contact with someone that has either been sick or has been diagnosed with COVID-19, please call to reschedule your visit.
2. We would like to minimize the number of people present in the office at any one time.
   1. We are asking that you all stay in the car upon your arrival. We have implemented a new check-in protocol that will let us know that you are here.
      1. Go to our website: www.wiseorthodontics.com
      2. Click on Patient Check-In

• Fill out the patient screening questionnaire and submit

1. This will lead you to the virtual check-in page; please follow instructions on the page
   1. Click which office you are at- McKinney or Frisco
   2. Message us the patient name and the car that you are in
2. If is it not possible for the patient only to come inside, we are allowing one parent/guardian inside the office during their scheduled appointment. Siblings and friends, who are normally welcome, will need to stay home or in the car.

3. We have closed down our reception area for now. Once you message us, please give us a minute as one of our lovely staff members will come outside to take your temperature and retrieve you for your appointment.
   1. Anyone with a temperature of 100 degrees or more will be asked to reschedule their appointment.
4. Please try to use the restroom before you leave your house for your appointment. Our restroom facility will be available upon request but is being closely watched as we are cleaning it between every use.
5. We will still have our juices and water available if you get thirsty waiting in your car. Just message us from the virtual check in page and our front staff will get one to you! We’ve closed down the coffee bar for now since they are not individually packaged.
6. We have also adjusted our schedule to decrease the number of patients seen in one day so we can practice social distancing in our clinic. While this will temporarily decrease the appointments available to choose from, we are opening two additional half days a week to help fix broken appliances and other unplanned adjustments. We’ll be following strict instructions not to add in any additional patients unless there is a time slot available for the procedure. Thank you for understanding!

In the back, you’ll notice a few changes as well.

1. Oral hygiene and specifically keeping teeth and appliances free from plaque and food debris has always been important, but now more than ever. If you are sick or have been exposed, the virus can be found inside your mouth. Plaque is a great hiding place for it and if there is a lot of plaque on your teeth, brushing can release those viral particles.
   1. So, before you leave the house for your appointment, please brush your teeth and all appliances clean clean Mom or Dad, please inspect their teeth to help us out.  We want a plaque free zone to be maintained in the clinic area. 
2. We have closed our tooth brushing stations for the time being and we will have patients brush their teeth at the chair if needed, with an assistant present to suction saliva.
3. We will also require all patients to rinse with Colgate Peroxyl for a minute before every appointment.
   1. Colgate Peroxyl contains 1.5% hydrogen peroxide which is known to be effective in deactivating the coronavirus. This will help minimize the risk of aerosols in the office. It tastes minty and creates a little foam- not bad at all.
4. You may notice the assistants and doctors will be wearing additional protective gear (PPE), but not to worry, we’re still the same people underneath! You can joke and interact with us just like before!
5. Lastly, we have the distinct advantage of having a large clinic, with individual partitions between each chair. We will strive to use every other chair to exceed proper social distancing rules.

A couple quick reminders…

1. If you have broken a bracket(s) during this time, please bring the bracket(s) back to us in a Ziploc bag- we can still use it! We may choose to re-attach these now or at a later date depending on the circumstances.
2. Please remember to continue brushing at least 4 times a day – on waking and after each meal.

We miss seeing all of your sweet faces in the office.  We are happy that we were able to reach out to many of you with the virtual appointments. Thank you again for being patient and understanding through this difficult time. We’re all taking a bite out of the coronavirus – as a FAMILY!

Blessings to you and yours-

John Wise    Jessica Lee   The entire Wise-Lee Family