Author: Tin Hoang

IMPORTANT: PLEASE COMPLETE, SIGN AND RETURN THIS HEALTH PRE-SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE PRIOR TO YOUR NEXT VISIT. 

Dear Oasis Family,

As a follow up to our post from May 2, 2020, we would like to share with you more specifics in terms of our reopening schedule. Premier Kenney announced last Thursday that dental offices would be permitted to reopen on Monday, May 4th, as long as they complied with the regulations of their governing body. Those guidelines are now available and state that only urgent and emergent care can be provided at this time, until at least May 14th. Furthermore, practices were only permitted to open if they
followed the new infection control protocols. To that end, we require proper protective equipment (PPE). We began ordering these supplies as soon as the shutdown occurred, but many were on back order. China has recently nationalized the production of PPE, which has caused several orders to be cancelled. We also decided to renovate and modify certain areas of the practice to provide you with additional protection.

We know that you are looking forward to your next appointment, and so are we! But in order to comply with government regulations, we are implementing a staged and gradual approach to reopening Oasis. In other words, we are obligated to book fewer appointments a day for the foreseeable future. To mitigate the impact of these
changes, however, we are opening up extra treatment days.

Assuming no unforeseen circumstances, we will be resuming regular orthodontic care on May 19 with a lighter schedule. We will thus ensure that we are providing you a safe environment by not only having sufficient PPE supplies but also properly trained team members on the new protocols. Urgent and emergent care will continue to be provided until then.
Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you back!

Dr. Knoefel and the Oasis Team

Dear Oasis Family,

By now you’ve probably heard that, according to the Alberta government, dental offices will be allowed to reopen on Monday May 4th. Premier Kenney did specify, however, that dentists would be obligated to follow the regulations of their governing body in order to reopen.

The challenge is that those guidelines are not yet available. Once we have obtained them, and are able to comply with them, we will do our best to reopen as soon as possible. Please understand that our primary objective is to ensure that you, our patients, our staff and the public are kept safe

Many things will be different at Oasis when we do reopen. But one thing is for sure: our care for you and our smiling faces will still be the same! Even if they are hidden behind masks!

See you soon!

Dr. Knoefel and the Oasis Team

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:

1. Swelling
2. Uncontrollable pain
3. Bleeding
4. Infection
5. 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

To the Oasis Family:

In order to protect the well-being of our patients and team members, Dr. Knoefel has cancelled his trip out of the country and has remained in Edmonton.

Furthermore, he has made the decision to keep the practice closed from March 16-March 27 inclusive, as planned, except for the four mornings (Tuesday, March 17, Friday, March 20, Tuesday, March 24 and Friday, March 27) that had been previously reserved for special visits.

With the situation in our city, province and country in a constant state of flux, we are closely following the recommendations of the Alberta Dental Association and College in terms of infection control.

We will therefore continue to take every precaution to sanitize and disinfect our office constantly, especially during these challenging times.

We also want to reassure you that we are all healthy.

We have no intention at this time of cancelling or rescheduling any patients who are currently booked from March 30 onwards, to ensure the continuity of care.

Should this situation change, all affected patients and families will be contacted directly and immediately.

These are challenging times, indeed. Let us come together as a community and continue to be there for each other. We will get through this!

Dr. Mark Knoefel and The Oasis Team