Updated Office Policies and Procedures

1. Please fill out the Informed Consent and Health Questionnaire online the day before your appointment. New patients should fill out the New Patient Registration Form as well. (https://www.aoortho.com/forms)
2. When you arrive at the office, text us (numbers below) with the patient's full name and date of birth letting us know you have arrived. 
3. We will verify you have filled out the necessary forms and then text you when it is time to enter the building.

DOVER: (302) 678-3000
MILFORD: (302) 422-6007
LEWES: (302) 644-4100

We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the past few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to you.

With that being said, we are ecstatic to announce that we will be reopening our practice soon! We have missed our amazing patients and families so much, and are thrilled to be back. This letter will provide you with updates to our office policies and procedures as it relates to COVID-19. To provide a safe environment for our patients and team members, as well as comply with governing body regulations, we are implementing the following:

• All appointments have been rescheduled. We will be sending out text and email reminders with your new appointment day/time. It will take our system a few days to send out all reminders, as we have rescheduled hundreds of appointments. If you have a conflict with your new day/time, please contact us. Available appointment times are extremely limited. No walk-ins will be allowed into the building. As always, an appointment is required to be seen.
• We are strictly adhering to appointment times. Late arrivals will not be seen.
• When you arrive for your appointment, please text us the patient’s full name and date of birth. We will reply letting you know when to proceed into the building. Upon entry, the patient’s temperature will be taken. We are asking that ONLY the patient enter the building. If your child is not able to attend their appointment alone, ONE parent or guardian may accompany them. New patients are seen in a private room, so all minors must be accompanied by one adult. We are complying with the Governor’s mandate that all individuals 13 and older wear a mask in public, so please don’t forget your mask!
• Please brush your teeth before you arrive for your appointment. Our toothbrush stations are closed. Also, no one with gloves will be allowed into our building. We will be asking you to wash your hands upon arrival and before exiting the building.
• Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As always, we will continue to follow the activities of these agencies to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations, as well as any mandates from the state of Delaware.
• Sadly, at this time we are going to pause our rewards program to limit hand to hand contact. Once our new protocols become second nature, we will happily reinstate it.

Please remember, at this time, we have a LOT of patients who need to be seen. There are some with emergent needs, and some who were the first to be canceled. Please help us keep our phone lines clear in order to reach out to our patients. We are extending office hours and adding extra days to accommodate our patient’s needs to the absolute best of our ability.

We look forward to seeing you again, and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends!

Sincerely,

The AO Team