When Will Dr. Panucci & the Beach Braces Team Start Seeing Patients?
As soon as it is safe to do so! We have been working hard with our administrative team managing rescheduling, mailing rubber bands, delivering aligners, answering questions, etc. All of our team, including our clinical assistants, are using this time for training and implementation of new techniques to make us all safer for when we reopen. We don’t yet know when that will be, but when it is, we plan to be available to you immediately and better than ever!
What Additional Safety Precautions Are In Place For When The Office Reopens?
We want to make sure that you feel comfortable and safe in our office environment. We have been keeping up on the medical literature surrounding COVID-19 and will be implementing some additional precautions, at least for the short term:
- Check in procedure: We have placed hand sanitizer by the self check-in screen and will also plan to check-in patients via verbal communication with our front desk. If you arrive early and/or we are not able to seat you immediately upon your arrival, you may wait in the outdoor courtyard or in your car and we will text you when ready.
- Hospitality: Our hospitality station with coffee, tea, etc. as well as magazines, snack fridge, and iPads will be removed (sorry!). The patient prize wheel can be spun with gloves only.
- Patient seating: Our clinic chairs have always been 6 ft apart, so seated patients are already “social distancing.”
- We will maintain masks / gloves refreshed and in place, even outside of direct patient care. Feel free to ask us for a mask or gloves if that makes you feel more comfortable.
What Can Invisalign Patients Do While They Are Waiting For An Appointment?
Keep moving forward in your aligners at your usual pace, trying to never have them out for more than 30 min at a time for meals. Our office is mailing/delivering aligners (and rubber bands when indicated). If you have not received your aligners within the time frame of your original appointment, this is because they needed to be re-designed to remove and / or delay the placement of attachments and/ or tooth reshaping in order to continue to move ahead with treatment with mailed aligners. Virtual monitoring using cheek “retractors” (AKA two spoons) is available via Zoom and Dr. Panucci can continue to monitor your treatment closely. Please email treatment@beachbraces.org to schedule your appointment.
What Can Braces/ Expander Patients Do While Waiting For An Appointment?
Please avoid any hard or sticky foods! Hard foods can bend a wire causing discomfort and/or unintended tooth movement and can knock off 1 or more braces, which extends treatment. Sticky foods have a pulling action and can cause a wire to pull out and feel pokey and/or can pull braces off. Preventing breakage is a key component to finishing treatment on time. Please let us know if you need more rubber bands and we leave them taped to the front door in an envelope for safe pick up. If you have a question about your treatment, please use a spoon to move your cheek out of the way to send a photo to drpanucci@beachbraces.org and she will review it and advise.
Has Anyone Working At The Office Tested Positive For COVID-19?
Due to our strict pre-existing infection control procedures, prompt office closure and social distancing at the onset of the outbreak, none of the Beach Braces team members has contracted COVID-19. All of our team members (except 1 and Dr. Panucci) are working from home. As always, any team member with symptoms of any illness is requested to stay home and the same is true for our patients.
Will There Be Extra Appointments Times To “Catch Up” On Delayed Appointments?
We plan to see patients M-F during our normal business hours as soon as we can reopen for regular appointments. We plan to have 1-2 dedicated “Braces REMOVAL Days” for all of the patients whose “BIG DAY” was delayed. We will utilize additional safety precautions mentioned above.
Covid-19 FAQ