Coronavirus Update – 14 May 2020

To Our Legendary Gluck Orthodontics Patients,

As of Wednesday May 6th, upon the expiration of Governor Lee’s Safer-At-Home order, we reopened our practice to regular patient appointments. We are excited to be back in the office and are working hard to make up for over 1800 cancelled appointments. Please read this post in its entirety, as it will provide information on the next steps for our practice.

As we start to see patients in our office, our number one priority remains the safety of our team, our patients, and our families. Just as Nashville will be reopening with a phased approach, we will also follow a similar method. We have been closely following CDC and OSHA guidelines and will be adjusting our regular appointment flow to ensure proper safety precautions.

We understand that many of you have waited a long time for your appointment. It is our intention to see you or your child as quickly as possible for an appointment, as long as it’s done in a safe manner. Initially, we will not be able to see the same number of patients as we usually do. This allows for proper physical distancing and time for disinfecting and sterilization. Don’t worry though – we will still provide the Legendary Customer service you’ve come to expect. And, we will be adding Friday appointments through Mid-June to increase our capacity.

Over the past two weeks, we put in place a number of new Bio-Safety steps. These include limiting the number of daily appointments and simultaneous appointment times, to cut down on the total number of people in the office at any one time. We have contracted with a local cleaning company to thoroughly disinfect our office space each evening after we see patients, including a fogging procedure to clean hard to see/reach spaces. We have modified our communal spaces to reduce the number of chairs in our reception area and removed magazines. Our coffee station, Starglucks, and ice cream freezer are temporarily closed. The toothbrushing station is also closed. On Monday May 4, we installed UV air filters in our HVAC ducts which service the entire office space – administrative and clinical areas. We have been screening everyone who enters our office including a temperature check and ask everyone to wear a mask in the office. We are limiting aerosol-producing appointments to the morning only. Finally, our team members are wearing increased PPE during clinical procedures.

We’d also like to let you know we are providing teledentistry services. We are utilizing Doxy.me virtual appointments, which as a patient is quick and easy to use, just a few clicks. Through teledentistry we can see initial consultations, evaluate growth and tooth eruption on young observation patients, and review progress with aligner treatment. If you are interested in this option, please let us know.

One last thing – As you know, things have changed a lot during the past few weeks, and they have changed often. The current plan outlined in this post is how we will begin this reopening process. We will change our approach as needed and will do our best to communicate with you so you are aware of what’s going on. We will also post updates to our social media – Facebook and Instagram.

Below our sign-off, you will find detailed instructions on what to expect when you come in for an appointment. On behalf of our entire team, thank you so much for your patience during this time. We have had so much fun being back in the office even for a few days, and look forward to seeing many of you soon! If you have any questions at all, please reach out to us at frontoffice@drgluck.com.

Sincerely,

Dr. G, Dr. Jono, and the G Team

Instructions for the Day of Your Appointment:

When you arrive, please stay in your car and text us at 615-815-7980 to let us know (don’t forget to include your name in the text).

Once we are ready, we will text you back to let you know to enter the office. There can be no congregating in the elevator lobby. To reduce the number of individuals in our office, we will adopt the following guidelines:

For adult patients, please plan to attend your appointment alone. For child patients, only one parent may accompany the child into the office. Please wear a mask into the office. We will have you remove it during your appointment. A cloth mask or bandanna is acceptable. One of our G Team members will greet you at the front door, and complete a pre-appointment screening on everyone entering the office, including a temperature check. If your child will attend the appointment alone, we will call you to complete the question portion of the screening. If you or your child has a temperature > 100.4 or other COVID-19 symptoms, we will reappoint you and recommend that you see your Physician or Urgent Care for further testing. After the screening, one of our clinicians or Treatment Coordinators will welcome you to start your appointment.

For some procedures, such as removing braces or Invisalign attachments, repairing loose braces, or removing appliances, we will be using a low-aerosol-producing dental handpiece with high-volume suction. These appointments will be scheduled in the morning only and spaced out in our clinic for physical distancing. As is our standard practice, we will also sterilize all instruments and handpieces after their use. If you know you or your child has a bracket or attachment that needs repair, please call us so we can schedule you in the morning. We can’t perform repair procedures in the afternoon.

Because of the backlog of cancelled appointments, we aren’t able to accommodate walk-in appointments, even for Comfort Visits. All appointments must be directly scheduled through our office. If you have a comfort issue after-hours, please call 615-815-7980.

For parents with young children, please let them know that even though we are wearing PPE and our procedures may be different than what they are used to, our office will always remain the same friendly, fun, easy-going place. We may be wearing masks and gloves, but underneath them are the same wonderful and caring G Team members!

Coronavirus Update – 14 May 2020

joelgluck

Dr. Joel Gluck has practiced orthodontics since 1983 when he opened his own office in Nashville. He earned his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and his dental degree at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Gluck then completed an orthodontic specialty residency at the University of Michigan, one of the top five orthodontic training residencies in the country. He also wrote an original thesis and received a Master of Science degree.