Are you finding yourself with a dental concern only to learn that majority of dental offices are currently shut down due to the corona virus pandemic? Just like many other small business owners, our team at Sunshine Smiles went to bed one evening and woke up in a world that did not deem our business safe to be open. While the recommendations for staying home are quite logical, there are still people out in our community that have dental emergencies. So how do we help our patients while still maintaining social distance? The answer for majority of these patients can be found in teledentistry.
Even for those that do not have a high degree of technological background, communicating with your dentist through teledentistry is actually quite simple. Through teledentistry, your dentist can visually see your concerns and more effectively communicate with you regarding your options. Are your ready to visit the dentist from the comfort of your own home? Follow the steps below to make a teledentistry appointment with Sunshine Smiles Of Orange County!
Teledentistry Steps For Patients
1. Go to our website at www.sunshinesmilesoc.com , viewing either the Homepage or the Contact Us page.
2. On the page page you will find a description and a disclaimer regarding teledentistry consultations. You will then see a Schedule Virtual Consult Now button. Click on the button.
3. You will now be prompted to choose a doctor, a date and time for your consultation. Next, you will be asked for your name, your email, your phone number, your concern, and the name of your insurance (if applicable).
4. After submitting the form,our team will receive your information and will approve the appointment. Both the Patient and Doctor will be notified of an appointment confirmation.
5. A few minutes prior to your scheduled time, you can enter the Sunshine Smiles of Orange County waiting room at https://doxy.me/sunshinesmilesoc.
6. Please ensure that both video and audio is enabled on your phone/tablet/computer.
7. If you are having tooth pain, we recommend to also have a flashlight and Q-tip available to assist in the diagnosis process.
8. The doctor will enable the HIPPA compliant Virtual Consultation on their end.
9. You will now be face to face with the doctor who will talk with you about your concerns and any symptoms you may have. After visual examination of the concerned area, a plan of action will be created for addressing your concern. The doctor will also be able to provide any recommendations, prescriptions, referrals, or appointments for further treatment at our office.
10. Following the completion of the Virtual Consultation, our Financial Team will submit to your insurance company on your behalf. We will do our best to maximize insurance benefits. Please be aware that due to this extremely unprecedented time, insurance companies are advising they will pay; however, without a track record for this situation, we cannot guarantee insurance will recognize tele-dentistry as a covered benefit. If you do not have dental insurance, or your insurance company does not recognize tele-dentistry as a covered benefit, there will be a $45 charge for the service.
And that is it! Our office hopes that, by utilizing teledentistry, we can still help our patients and community with their dental concerns while also keeping everyone safe. It is our sincere hope that our office (and our world) can return to routine business in the very near future, but until then we are more than happy to have teledentistry as a tool during this time. Thank you for working with us during this unique situation. We believe that this will assist in ensuring that patients, doctors and team members will remain safe and healthy while still providing a high quality, care-centered approach that enables us to address any emergent issues which should arise during this time. We hope you stay healthy and look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces in our office as soon as we are able.
Author
Dr. Arshia Kalantari has been a practicing general dentist for over 9 years and grows to love his profession more and more every single day. Since finishing dental school, Dr. Kalantari continually chooses to advance his education and takes specialty seminars and courses to become well practiced and knowledgeable in the fields of Sleep Apnea, Invisalign, Root Canal Treatment, and Cosmetics. Dr. Kalantari views his patients as an extension of his family and appreciates the bond he is able to form, always up for a chit chat or to lend a listening ear.
