SmileOdontics - "a great smile is a good investment" » Emergency

If Bad Weather Makes it Tough to Keep Your Appointment

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:26:28 +0000

We’ve had a pretty mild winter – but this weekend storm may prove to be a difficult time to manage roads in our area. As our most important decision is the well being of our patients – we want to make sure everyone understands what our “policy” for appointments during bad weather…

1) If you are unable to safely drive and keep your appointment – please just contact our office at the earliest time to reschedule.

2) Our office plans to be open at all times we have patients scheduled – unless the road conditions are determined to be unsafe and the county restricts driving.

3) Some patients may live closer to the office and not encounter difficulties, however, some of our staff have to drive a further distance and could make reporting to the office difficult or unsafe.

We appreciate your understanding during the times of inclement weather as well as our being understanding for your situation during the same. If our office is CLOSED due to weather we will contact patients who leave messages at the next scheduled day of business. Remember – if you have a Patient Emergency – contact our office or emergency cell phones so that we can do our best to ensure patient comfort.

Documents to Review & Sign

admin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:36:26 +0000

When you are ready to begin your orthodontic treatment with our office, we will have a series of documents necessary to have reviewed and signed for our files before we can begin. Specific Financial Agreements will be prepared and presented in the office; however, you may wish to review the following Consent and HIPPA documents so that any questions can be answered. Please be sure to bring your SIGNED PAGES to the next appointment so that we can scan for our files.

Consent with Acknowledgement for Orthodontic Treatment

Full HIPPA Policy

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to save a tree and keep our office “paperless!”

Loose Wire / Band / Bracket

admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:44:52 +0000

Don’t be alarmed if a wire , bracket or band comes loose. This happens occasionally…

Wire (the wire that goes through each of the brackets for positioning)

Bracket (the part of the brace that is actually cemented to the front surface of the tooth)

Band (the metal band that is placed actually around the back molars)

Broken Bracket is the most typical “Emergency” call we receive. Whether as a result of something that has happened or not, call our office to let us know of your concern. If the bracket can be easily “moved” between your fingers and you feel comfortable in trying to “unhook” from the wire – this is the best way to assure the patient does not / can not accidentally swallow the bracket. If the bracket will not come “off” the wire – then you should just be cautious until able to get removed or be seen in our office.

If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (back of spoon or the eraser end of a pencil) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire under the archwire. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax or wet cotton on the wire to reduce the annoyance.

It is unlikely that a “band” will be lost – however, it could become loose and irritating. We will need to schedule an appointment for replacement which can take place at your next scheduled appointment or earlier if necessary by Doctor’s decision.

Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the appliances. If any piece comes off, save it and bring it with you to the office. If you have attempted to contact our office and have not received a call back within 2 hours, please contact Tammy at 937-838-0997. She will make the necessary contact to get you an immediate response to your emergency need.

Pain or Discomfort

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:28:40 +0000

The mouth is very sensitive to changes and the introduction of any appliance means that the patient should expect a period of adjustment. There may be some occasional discomfort associated with orthodontic treatment. This usually can be resolved by using a simple, over-the-counter headache remedy such as Tylenol or Advil.

Broken Bracket Policy

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:54:35 +0000

To encourage our patients to take care of their braces, we request that you avoid hard and sticky foods, brush after every meal and floss and Water-pik at night. Broken brackets can result in emergency situations as well as causing inconveniences in scheduling for extra-curricular student activities. Our office policy for broken brackets is as follows:

a) Please call the office and alert our office staff of the situation.

b) Repairs for broken brackets are done only in the morning. If a patient is found to have a broken bracket at a “regular” appointment, the bracket will be removed and the patient will be reappointed for the next available morning appointment to re-bond the bracket.

c) There will be a charge of $40 for every broken bracket past four broken brackets (unless undue negligence is noted and then charges apply no matter “how many” broken brackets.)

d) Lack of care of the appliances may result in dismissal from the practice.

Emergency Care

admin — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:57:53 +0000

As a general rule, an emergency appointment may be made when there is severe pain, a loose band, a broken wire or something sticking out that you can’t take care of.

It’s important to know the names of the parts of your appliances as it will help, when you phone the office, to be able to identify what part is broken or out of place.

If you are unable to get to our office to relieve the pain – we may be able to provide you with “quick-fixes” – so please call us and let us know about the problem.