COVID-19 Action Plan

Hello Bridgham Barr Orthodontics Family and Friends,
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we have been temporarily closed in compliance with the CDC’s and Governor’s directives during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we have been given the green light to resume non-urgent care, we are very much looking forward to seeing you in the safest possible way for both patients and our staff. Please find the infographic in this email on our social media pages and website. Things will certainly be different, but the warm, welcoming environment and commitment to excellence remains the same.
We have a 10-point plan to maximize health and safety in our office going forward:
- All patients need to complete a COVID-19 Informed Consent prior to the first visit since our re-opening. Also, a Wellness Screening form is available that you may fill out online within 24 hours of the visit, or you will be asked the questions verbally upon arrival. You may click the links directly from here or they are available on our website homepage under “Download Medical Forms”.
- Per the Governor’s executive order 202.17, all people entering our office must be wearing a mask. Due to a worldwide shortage of PPE, we are only able to stock enough disposable masks for the use of our staff, so we ask that each person come in wearing their own.
- All people entering our office will have their temperature taken (no-touch forehead thermometer) and will be provided with hand sanitizer to use.
- If you arrive within 5 minutes of your appointment time, please come up. We ask that patients who arrive more than 5 minutes late, please call to see if we can still accommodate your appointment due to the increased cleaning time between patients.
- Only the patient is permitted in the office. We will make exceptions for the younger patients or those who need special assistance. In that case, one adult may accompany the patient – this person will also be asked to complete the wellness survey, wear a mask, and have their temperature taken. Please no siblings, friends, or other guests. Though one of our favorite aspects of our office is the family atmosphere, right now we need to love the family from afar.
- A significant reduction in patient volume will be scheduled at the moment to accommodate all recommended guidelines. Dividers are being installed on the counters between each chair. Our tooth-brushing area will be closed to prevent cross contamination, so please brush and floss well prior to the appointment. This “socially distant scheduling” will unfortunately make finding the perfect appointment time a little more difficult. We understand many of our patients are concerned about not having been seen in our office for some time. We empathize 100%, and so we will be working very hard to catch up on over 1300 cancelled appointments. We will have to see every patient in the order that they were originally scheduled, unless there is an urgent concern. Please request a virtual consultation visit right away in case you have any concerns, so we can make the best plan together. We are committed to getting everyone back on track. If you or a family member have underlying medical conditions that put you at higher risk for complications from communicable diseases, please call or email info@bbosmiles.com to arrange for your appointment to occur during a specially-designated time.
- Procedures generating dental aerosol will be limited to our private room. During this procedure, we will be using an extraoral suction unit, which is an aerosol capture system with UV/electromagnetically-enhanced HEPA filtration. Special personal protective equipment and measures will be required for the doctor and staff for these procedures. These steps in particular are very important to significantly minimize the risks to all staff and patients in our office, so we cannot be as flexible on scheduling these types of appointments as we were in the past.
- We have invested in multiple medical-grade air purification units (MedifyAir), which have H13 True HEPA filters. Our air purification rate with these units goes above the CDC’s best practices for health care settings.
- Our office will continue our rigorous sterilization and disinfection program that has always exceeded CDC and OSHA guidelines. Our staff is undergoing extra training to safely work in our new environment and have all safety protocols recommended by regulatory bodies. The entire staff, including doctors, also undergo daily temperature checks and screening questions to monitor our own health. If you or anyone in your household develops symptoms of illness or is diagnosed with COVID-19 in the 14 days after your appointment, please notify our office immediately.
- Some appointments, like growth observation, retainer monitoring, aligner progress checks, etc. may be conducted virtually. This will not only save you a trip, it promotes social distancing. Our office will let you know if this is an option. You may also request a virtual appointment for any treatment status if you would feel more comfortable working remotely with us for the time being.
We sincerely look forward to seeing you again very soon. We are working through our cancelled appointments to reschedule everyone one week at a time in the order the appointments were cancelled, starting mid-March. Please don’t forget to return the wellness survey and treatment consent that will be included with your next appointment reminder.
Thank you so much, stay healthy and well!
Dr. Bridgham, Dr. Barr, and the entire BBO Team