COVID 19 Update
Here we go - starting tomorrow (Thursday January 14th, 2021) at 12:00 AM, Ontario is going into its second state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 case numbers. Dental offices who are equipped to do so shall remain open during this time. We have confirmation from the College of Dentists (RCDSO) that all services can proceed for non-essential, elective dental visits as well as emergency dental visits and as you know by now: we are committed to serving you and your family.
Please be patient with our screening and entry procedures. While they may be less convenient than they were pre-COVID times, they are pertinent to keeping our community safe. You can review the check-in process here. For your safety, please register for the ALFIE Dentistry Patient Portal so that you can access any forms online - this reduces touch-points within the office - and any pathogens that might be on them.
If you have issues accessing the Patient Portal, here are some of the common troubleshooting tips we can offer:
Registering - sometimes we have an outdated postal code on file (and this information is needed for you to register). Just give us a quick call, and we can help you access your account for the first time and then you should be able to make updates as needed.
Broken Link - registration links expire within 24 hours. Please log-in before this happens. If it's too late, please give us a call and we can resend it.
Link is sent to an inactive email address - Please update us of any changes - for example, if we usually send emails to your preferred 'work' email address and now you're working from home and using a different primary email.
General error message - try accessing the portal from a different web browser.
You don't see any forms you need to complete. If you've recently filled out a form (within 14 days), you don't have to update. But if we've contacted you directly to get the forms filled (and there aren't any forms loaded up into the patient portal), it's probably a glitch in the system - so give us a call to reload them. If you're not sure and/or don't remember, you can always give us a quick call :D. We're here to help!
We've reloaded the forms but you're still not receiving them. Sometimes, the forms get redirected to your head of house - which can be a parent or a spouse. Ask them to check their accounts to see if the forms have been loaded up there. Sorry for the inconvenience, the system is automatically set up in this way. The good news is: if a family member has already registered for the ALFIE Dentistry Patient Portal, they should be able to access forms and info for the entire family!
If you have screened positive for COVID-19, please stay home. The College of Dentists recommends no in-office treatment for anyone who has tested positive - unless it is an emergency situation or one that requires urgent care. Our team can help you determine whether it is an issue that can be mitigated via video chat with one of our doctors or if you need to come in.
Here is a list of "Emergency Treatments" (copied and pasted directly from the RCDSO website)
oral-facial trauma
cellulitis or other significant infection, especially if compromising the patient’s airway
prolonged bleeding
pain that cannot be managed by over-the- counter medications
Here is a list of "Urgent Care Treatments" (copied and pasted directly from the RCDSO website)
severe dental pain from pulpal inflammation
pericoronitis or third-molar pain
surgical post-operative osteitis, dry socket dressing changes
abscess or localized bacterial infection resulting in localized pain and swelling
tooth fracture resulting in pain, pulp exposure or causing soft tissue trauma
extensive caries or defective restorations causing pain
dental trauma with avulsion/luxation
final crown/bridge cementation if the temporary restoration is lost, broken or causing gingival irritation
biopsy of a suspicious oral lesion or abnormal oral tissue
replacing a temporary filling in an endodontic access opening for patients experiencing pain
snipping or adjusting an orthodontic wire or appliance piercing or ulcerating the oral mucosa
treatment required before critical medical procedures can be provided
suture removal
denture adjustments or repairs when function is impeded
other procedures that in the dentist’s professional judgement are necessary in order to minimize harm to patients and/or relieve pain and suffering
Non-Essential services (copied and pasted directly from the RCDSO website) include:
recall examinations and routine radiographs
routine dental cleanings and preventive therapies
orthodontic procedures other than those to address acute issues (e.g. pain, infection, trauma)
extraction of asymptomatic teeth
restorative dentistry, including treatment of asymptomatic carious lesions
cosmetic dental procedures, including teeth whitening
If you have trouble figuring out whether your situation is an emergency, urgent case or non-essential, please call our office or upload a photograph of the issue and email it to us.
How to get a good quality image?
Have a family member take the photograph for you - it's very tricky trying to do it yourself.
Stand close to a bright light source - even angling your mouth up to a light, if need-be. Just make sure not to catch a glare! If there is a glare, have the photographer change the angle slightly before taking the picture.
Open the mouth wide OR bring the teeth together (smiling) and using a clean finger, retracting the cheek to get a side view (you can do this on yourself - the photographer likely does not want to do this and also needs to focus on getting a clear shot!) The position of your mouth/camera should relate to where you're experiencing the issue.
Make sure to get in close BUT remember to focus the camera, so the image isn't fuzzy. If you're doing this from a smartphone, tapping the screen once will help to focus the lens. If it still won't focus, you may need more light or you may need to create more distance between the patient and the photographer. Try tapping once on the screen again after moving slightly.
Try a photo with flash, it sometimes helps to bring out a clearer picture. Or if you have one available, the photographer can shine a flashlight into the mouth before photographing (again, make sure there is no glare). If it is an upper tooth, you might get a better angle if the patient was lying down.
Take a photo of just the teeth and/or gum - physically move the camera as close as you can get without the image going fuzzy. If we can see a wall or couch in the background, the camera needs to be closer.
Make sure nothing is obstructing the view (e.g. stray hairs, the photographer's finger, etc). Even the camera position can sometimes block the light-source, so try shooting images from different angles to see where you get the clearest, brightest-but-not-glare-y photo!
