March 19, 2020
Dear Oasis Family,
The COVID-19 situation continues to change rapidly and I wanted to share with you the decisions we have made at Oasis Orthodontics to best protect the health and safety of our patients and staff.
Effective March 17th, 2020, the Alberta Dental Association & College (ADA+C) suspended all non-emergency dental treatment and services. Please read this article for more information.
What orthodontic emergencies are we still treating?
According to the ADA+C, an emergency that should be addressed must meet the following criteria:
- Swelling
- Uncontrollable pain
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Broken bones/teeth
How this translates to orthodontics is as follows:
- Pokey wires that are causing uncontrollable pain and/or bleeding
- Broken or loose brackets that are causing uncontrollable pain and/or bleeding
- Significant infection
There are three dates that have been reserved for these types of appointments: Friday, March 20, Tuesday, March 24 and Friday March 27. For reasons of safety, no walk-ins will be permitted. We are committed to our community and we are available to answer questions over the phone at 780-457-5566 or via email as well at info@braceplace.ca. Please describe your emergency and attach a clear, in-focus, photograph of the area of concern.
Prior to your visit to the office, you will be required to answer the following questions:
- Have you been experiencing cold like symptoms in the past 14 days?
- Anyone in your family experiencing cold like symptoms?
- Anyone in your social circle experiencing cold like symptoms?
- Have you, your family, anyone in your social circle been out of Canada in the past 14 days?
We will also email you a detailed consent form that must be signed and returned to the office before your appointment can be booked. Please scan or take a picture of the signed consent form and email it to info@braceplace.ca.
We apologize if this causes any inconvenience, but we want to remain publicly and professionally responsible to do our part in this unprecedented time. It is our duty to protect everyone’s health, including our own. Without a healthy team, we will not be able to fulfil our obligation to provide uncompromised care.
What does this mean for my next orthodontic appointment?
It simply means that regular orthodontic visits (appliance adjustments, bondings, new patient consultations, retainer checks, observation visits, etc.) are forbidden to prevent the spread of the virus. Our regular orthodontic appointment schedule will resume on March 30 unless the instructions from the Alberta Dental Association and College change. Should that be the case, we will be calling you personally to re-schedule your appointment(s) as soon as we have a definitive re-open date. For those patients who are booked for jaw surgery, please contact the surgeon’s office, as your surgical dates have likely been rescheduled.
What if I have a lost or broken appliance?
If you lost your retainer or appliance, or you have a loose bracket, and you are not suffering from uncontrollable bleeding or pain, we ask you to refrain from coming in. There is no doubt that this situation must be frustrating for you — it certainly troubles us that we are not allowed to address it under the current suspension — but we truly appreciate your understanding. These are extreme circumstances that none of us was ever expecting to encounter. We will schedule you in once the coronavirus situation has subsided and we are permitted to see all patients again. As soon as normal appointments can begin again, we will send you an update.
Protect your family and neighbours by staying home and social distancing wherever possible. Be sure to keep checking alberta.ca/COVID19 for updates and call 811 if you’re experiencing symptoms.
We will get through this together!
Lots of friendly elbow bumps from
Dr. Mark Knoefel and the Oasis Orthodontics Team