Important Things to Know for the Next Several Weeks
Governor Polis has officially given the go-ahead for dental offices to re-open beginning next week, April 27th. Even though we will start seeing patients again, it’s important to understand that things will not go back to normal for some time. Here are some important things to know about appointments for the near future:
1. Your scheduled appointment may still be postponed. Even though you may have an appointment scheduled after April 27th, it is possible that, as we work through the backlog of cancellations and move forward with reduced capacity, your appointment will need to be pushed further out. We estimate that it will take 4-6 weeks to fully catch up.
2. Our schedule will change slightly. We will be opening at 8am instead of 7am for the time being.
3. Debonds will be prioritized. With few exceptions, next week we will focus on catching up with patients who were scheduled to have their braces off. We will be seeing two patients at a time. If you are in this category, I will be reaching out to you personally to assign a day and time.
4. It is important to be flexible with appointment times and locations! Luckily, school districts are remaining closed through the end of the year, providing greater flexibility for appointment times. Appointments will be more or less “assigned.” We may also need you to visit a different office than usual so that we can fit everyone in. The Superior and Westminster offices are about 15 minutes apart.
5. Reception areas are closed. Our goal is to minimize the number of people in the office at one time. We are asking teenagers and adults to come alone. Children may be accompanied by one adult. If you have a younger sibling that needs to come along, let us know. We will have an employee standing at the door to check patients in and make sure the office doesn’t get too full.
6. We will be following all safety recommendations from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), CDA (Colorado Dental Association), ADA (American Dental Association), AAO (American Association of Orthodontists), DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). This will include screening procedures before appointments.
7. We are cautiously looking into the possibility of virtual appointments for some appointment types. Before we begin to offer virtual appointments, we want to feel confident that we can maintain a high standard of care. If you are uncomfortable coming into the office for your appointment, please let us know and we will discuss your options.
8. We will be offering private new patient consultations. As we balance the need to remain viable as a business with important concerns over public health, we will be offering completely private consultations at 12 noon Monday through Thursday. If you know anyone over the age of 7 who is interested in an orthodontic consultation, please recommend our office! You can request a consultation at www.drdixonortho.com. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Request an Appointment.”
Thank you so much for your patience throughout this process! We are truly grateful to all of our patients for choosing Dixon Orthodontics and for being a part of our community. If we can be of service in any way, please let us know by calling the office at (303) 430-4200 or texting our after-hours line at (720) 316-8221.