Hello Everyone,
*UPDATED June 3rd* – Our office will be reopening to patients on Monday, June 8th. Find out more HERE.
I am writing to inform you that we will not be reopening the office on April 6th as originally anticipated. Based on Governor Cuomo’s mandate for closure through April 15th, we can only assist with emergencies at this time, which is limited to severe pain, bleeding, or infection. The federal recommendation and that of the ADA are currently to remain closed to all non-essential elective procedures until April 30th. We are watching the same news updates as all of you and evaluating when the earliest possible time will be to reopen in a manner that is safe for everyone.
I know this is frustrating for many of you waiting to get braces off, to progress your treatment, or to get additional aligners. Our team truly misses seeing our patients every day and doing what we love doing…taking care of you! Rest assured, we will be ready to hit the ground running in order to get everyone caught up as quickly as possible when we are allowed to see you again.
The good news is that for many of you, the technology in the wires of your braces is still working and still moving teeth. Keep wearing those rubber bands, that bite is still correcting. Keep wearing those aligners! And don’t forget to BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH! I have compiled a list of things we can virtually help you with to allow you to continue to receive the attention you deserve during our temporary closure.
For those of you who currently have an appointment during our closure period, we will keep those appointments on schedule and reschedule everyone as soon as we have a firm reopening date. If you would like input on your treatment progress, we’re here for you!
On the day of your scheduled appointment, I ask you to feel free to utilize our virtual check-in process, linked here. Leave us a note of any specific concerns you may have, your preferred communication preference, and send in the requested series of photos. For patients wearing Invisalign or retainers, please send a series of photos with your appliances in and one with them out. Our team will evaluate the images and reach out to you within 1-2 business days. I’ve compiled a list below of specific areas we can help you with virtually.
For all patients wearing rubber bands (elastics) for bite correction:
We can evaluate your bite correction progress and discuss areas to focus on or modification of your current wear.
For patients with braces:
If we have discussed the need for you or your child to improve oral hygiene at past visits, we can evaluate your home care and provide suggestions for continued improvement. For most of you, your wires are continuing to work even in our absence. Good news! If you’re waiting for them to be removed, we’re happy to take a look to make sure everything is good to go as soon as possible.
For patients with Invisalign:
We can evaluate how your teeth are tracking in the aligners and provide feedback on how you are doing. Be sure to send us photos with the aligners in and one with them out. Unfortunately, we are unable to ship out any aligners, since our staff is also at home social distancing and remotely working from home.
For patients with expanders:
We can take a look and advise whether additional turns are needed or not.
For patients with retainers:
We can take a look at how they’re fitting and advise if you may be ok to reduce your wear. Be sure to send us photos with them in your mouth and out.
For patients who we are observing growth guidance:
We can still count those teeth and make sure things are growing appropriately for your child.
For ANYONE with discomfort or any concern I have not addressed above:
Don’t be shy, we’re here to help!
We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and finding ways to enjoy this time with your loved ones. We can’t wait to see you in person as soon as possible!
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Ankush Khanna and the entire Fresh Ortho Team
