McMurphy Orthodontics Policies

OFFICE HOURS

Dr. McMurphy is in the office Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday appointments will be scheduled for consultations and wire changes only.

We would like to take this opportunity to explain our scheduling policy to aid coordination of your family’s time and orthodontic appointments. Our schedule has been developed to attain the following goals:

• to provide the highest quality of care for each patient
• to utilize time efficiently so you are seen promptly for your appointments.
• to contain costs.

In order to balance our appointment schedule evenly throughout the day, certain procedures are scheduled at certain times.

RECORDS APPOINTMENT

This usually includes tooth impressions, radiographs, intra-oral and extra-oral photographs, and wax bites. These patient records are used to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

CONSULTATION

After the records are analyzed, Dr. McMurphy will discuss with you the problems at hand, the possible treatment modalities, and answer any questions you may have.

BONDING APPOINTMENT

This is the appointment in which the braces and/or other appliances are placed in the mouth. In most cases, this is a longer appointment.

SHORT APPOINTMENTS

These appointments are for adjustments and wire changes. They are usually 10 to 20 minutes in length. Whenever possible, short appointments can be scheduled in the early morning or in the afternoon, thus minimizing the amount of time spent away from school and work.

LONG APPOINTMENTS

These appointments are 30 minutes or longer and are scheduled in the midmorning and early afternoon. These appointments are scheduled at these times of day because they are usually more involved procedures, and both the patient and Dr. McMurphy need to be rested. Also, there are fewer patients in the office during this time of the day, thus allowing our staff the necessary time with each patient to help the appointment progress as easily as possible. We will be glad to provide you with a doctor’s excuse for these visits.

At the end of each appointment, we encourage you to schedule your next appointment. Since most patients are seen every six to eight weeks, our “prime-time” appointments are usually filled several weeks in advance. (Therefore, by scheduling your next appointment at the end of the present appointment rather than waiting and calling later, more choices of appointment times will be available to you.) Also, if you know you will be out of town for an extended period of time, we encourage you to schedule one appointment prior to leaving and another soon after your return.

TARDINESS

We value your time, and we will always strive to see you promptly. Please be on time for your appointment, and arrive 10 minutes early to brush. If you are late, we will do our best to complete all the work we have scheduled. However, it is not fair to keep other patients waiting for their appointments. Therefore, it may be necessary to reschedule some of the work to a later date. This will slow progress and lengthen treatment time.

APPOINTMENTS & EMERGENCIES

APPOINTMENT CANCELLATIONS

Please notify us 24 hours in advance if you need to reschedule an appointment. This enables us to use your appointment time to benefit another patient.

BROKEN APPOINTMENT

A cancellation of less than 24 hours prior to appointment time or not showing up for appointment time are considered broken appointments. Also, a broken appointment means lost time that could have benefited another patient if rescheduled. Since we cannot always reschedule a cancellation or broken appointment immediately, this will slow treatment progress, and therefore lengthen treatment time. We certainly do understand that unforeseen things can occur, preventing you from making your appointment, and we will reschedule at a time convenient for our office.

On occasion, our staff has had to stay after office hours to wait for a parent to pick up their child. Please understand that our time is valuable just as your time is valuable. Please check with the front desk before leaving your child. Therefore, you will know when they will be finished with their appointment so that you can pick them up promptly.

In closing, the scheduling procedure is being done to provide enough time for all patients to receive an equal amount of Dr. McMurphy’s professional service. It is our policy to distribute the workload of the day evenly and to prevent any waiting on the part of the patient to see Dr. McMurphy. We want to operate our office with properly scheduled appointments so no one waits. We hope this will help you understand our scheduling guidelines.

EMERGENCIES

SOS APPOINTMENTS (DURING OFFICE HOURS)

Please call during regular office hours if you have something broken or loose, even if it is the day before your appointment. This will allow us to schedule extra repair time so you and other patients can be seen on time. Your help is needed in order to provide the proper treatment at the scheduled appointment time.

EXAMPLES

• Loose brace (brackets or bands)
• Loose wires
• Sharp place on a brace
• Wire sticking in the back of the mouth

In order to avoid broken appliances we must ask that each patient adhere to the “No-No Food List”.

If excessive breakage is indicated the cost to repair the appliances will be $35.00 each bracket and band, and is due at the time of the appointment with no exceptions. You will be notified, in advance, if excessive breakage is occurring.

EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS (AFTER OFFICE HOURS)

If you have an emergency at night or on the weekend, please call our office. When you reach our answering service, you will be instructed on how to leave an emergency message and one of our assistants will get back to you immediately.

EXAMPLES

• Blow to the mouth from a ball (injury to the face and/or teeth)
• Automobile accident (severe pain and/or trauma)

We appreciate your cooperation and are excited that you are well on your way to a beautiful smile.

INFECTION CONTROL & STERILIZATION

Our office strives to offer the highest level of health care available to you and all of our patients. We continue to add products and systems as they become available, especially in the critical area of infection control. Our continuing goal is to provide state-of-the-art sterilization and infection control procedures. Our procedures include:

• Barrier Controls which are recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Dental Association (ADA). They include the use of masks and protective eyewear, when indicated, and the use of new gloves for each patient.
• Ultrasonic Rinsing of all tools and instruments after each patient prior to sterilization.
• Dry Heat Sterilization of all tools and instruments, killing all microorganisms with heat after each patient appointment.
• Handpieces are sterilized in a steam autoclave after each use to kill all microorganisms that might be present.
• Disposable items are used whenever possible and are always discarded once used or exposed to the clinical environment.
• Disinfectants are applied to chairs, counter tops and other surface areas in all treatment rooms.
• Reconditioned brackets or wires are not used to the potential for distortion during removal and disinfection.

Due to the limited space that we have in our treatment area, we ask that parents wait in the reception area until we have completed the appointment. Once we have completed the scheduled work, we will call you back and discuss treatment with you. At anytime, you are welcome to ask to speak with Dr. McMurphy regarding treatment. Please have the receptionist get him for you.

We are committed to staying current with the latest infection control and sterilization guidelines. When you visit our office, you can feel confident that your health, and that of your family, is protected.

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