Keeping Your Smile Healthy At Home During Covid-19
We know this is a challenging time for families and that you may be feeling uncertainty about what comes next for your orthodontic treatment. By now you’ve hopefully had the chance to speak with Dr. Britton, and we want to reassure you that we are continuing to monitor your treatment, while also planning for how best to triage our patients when it is safe to see you in our office again. We continue to follow guidelines given to us by public health and the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario as to when that might happen.
We understand many of you are eager to move forward and that many of you were also looking forward to getting your braces and appliances removed—we are looking forward to that for you, too. Some of you are also in the midst of treatment and worried about how things are progressing or whether there are any problems going on.
First of all, we are here for you anytime by text, phone or email. We are happy to look at your photos and speak with you via our TeleOrtho appointments. And if you are experiencing a true emergency (facial trauma or pain that can’t be managed at home), we will be here to help you.
Here is what can you do at home to keep your smiles healthy while we look forward to getting you back into the office:
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- BRUSH AND FLOSS YOUR TEETH DILIGENTLY. This will keep your teeth and gums as healthy as possible and prevents cavities and staining on your teeth.
- BE CAREFUL to keep your braces and appliances intact by avoiding crunchy, sticky, and hard foods.
- IF YOU ARE USING ELASTICS, and unless you have been directed by Dr. Britton to do otherwise, please wear them only at nighttime. This will ensure your teeth won’t progress too far before we get a chance to see you.
- IF YOU ARE IN INVISALIGN, please hold in the last aligner or if you have several to go, space them out. We are calling our aligner patients to give them best timelines. If your aligner is showing signs of wear, please let us know as we are working hard to get replacements delivered to your home.
We are continuing to check our messages daily and we are reaching out to patients every day. If you feel your concern is urgent or you are worried, don’t wait for us to call you.
Remember: Orthodontic treatment happens at a slow and steady pace to ensure the well-being of your teeth and gums. We hope that provides you with reassurance that we can maintain your treatment by following the above measures.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay home. And please take a few minutes to watch our new YouTube video about how to manage some orthodontic challenges from the safety of your home.