Dear Patients and Families,

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

Infection control has always been a top priority in our practice.  Our office follows recommendations and guidelines made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This allows us to make sure that our infection control procedures are up-to-date and enables us to provide the safest environment for our patients and their families.

During the past few week we have implemented additional safety precautions to help protect our patients and staff.

1) Upon scheduling an appointment, a COVID-19 questionnaire will be emailed to you (it can also be downloaded here). This questionnaire must be completed before your arrival to the office (please either email it back or bring it with you before every appointment).  We will postpone treatment for any patient that has experienced or been in contact with someone who has experienced the following symptoms within 14 days of the scheduled appointment date:  fever, cough, loss of taste and/or smell, flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath and fatigue.

2) We will be scheduling appointments in a manner that promotes social distancing and allows for adequate time to disinfect all areas of use in between patient appointments.  Unfortunately, that will mean less people in the office at one time which may make scheduling more difficult.  Upon arrival at our office building, please call us to let us know you have arrived.  We will call/text you once the office is ready for your visit.  You may need to wait either outside for a few minutes.

3) We ask that patients enter the office unaccompanied, if possible. For those patients that need a guardian to accompany them, we ask to limit it to a single family member. Every person entering the office is expected to be wearing a face covering and will be asked to sanitize their hands immediately upon entry.  Please do not remove your face covering unless instructed to do so by a staff member.  Every person who enters the office must have a completed COVID-19 questionnaire in our records. If we have not received it you will be asked to fill one out on our office iPad.  We will confirm no fever with a contactless thermometer upon arrival.

4) We are 100% paperless office, so all the forms will be either emailed to you prior to your appointment or we will ask you to use our iPad, which will then be sanitized.

5) Our waiting room will no longer offer brochures or magazines since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.

 6) A clear plexiglass screen (sneeze guard) has been installed at the front desk to minimize exposure to air-borne pathogens.

7) Medical-grade HEPA Air Purifiers have been purchased and will be installed in the office to help improve the air quality within the office for all the patients, families and staff.

8) Dr. Kuncio and staff will be wearing the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE). The following PPE will be worn by our staff at all times: KN95 masks during aerosol generating procedures, level 3 surgical masks, face shields, disposable gowns, gloves, hairnets and booties.

9) External Oral Aerosol Suction Units were ordered and will be used during braces and attachments removal procedures to minimize aerosols produced by the use of the high speed handpiece. 

10) Patients will be asked to rinse with Peroxyl (1.5% peroxide solution) prior to appointment. We are temporarily suspending in office brushing/flossing option to minimize the spread of the virus (please brush at home prior to the visit).  We will also be asking that patients use our restroom for emergencies only, as regular use will require constant cleaning.

We look forward to seeing you in our office and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we are taking to keep our community safe.  Please call 718-878-4822 or email drkuncio@gmail.com if you are ready to schedule an emergency adjustment appointment.  Thank you for your patience - we will do our best to accommodate your scheduling needs as we know many of you are anxious to get back into our office to continue your treatment.

Thank you for being part of our Kuncio Orthodontics family. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.