Paul L. Ouellette, DDS, MS
Orthodontics for Children, Teenagers & Adults
800 76-SMILE 767-6453
January 1, 2004
 

APPOINTMENT POLICIES AND INFORMATION
 
For Patient: _______________________________________________
 
Our goal is to be the best part of your day. We make it a top priority to value both you and your time. That’s why we make every effort to stay on or ahead of schedule.  Most adult patients work and all children attend school.  Inconveniencing your work schedule and interrupting your child’s studies as infrequently as possible is very important to our office.  Particularly if your child’s school may not give him/her attendance credit if he/she has not been present for at least 4 hours in the school day. However, it is unavoidable that some work-time/school-time appointments will be necessary.  To ensure quality orthodontic care, it is imperative that our patients understand the manner in which we schedule appointments.
 
In order to be fair to all patients, it is necessary that we alternate appointment times. If you have consistently been given after school appointments in the past, you will be required to alternate morning appointments beginning with your next appointment.  We have always been happy to work around work/school schedules as often as possible.  As stated, we understand that parents work and children attend school, however, you have committed to an ongoing orthodontia process.  Most appointments are at six to eight week intervals, allowing plenty of time to notify employers and schools.  We can provide you with necessary proof of orthodontic appointments (School/Work Excuses) for submission to verify absences or for insurance/flex plan accounts.  Please note that patients who are behind in making payments will automatically be given morning or off-peak appointment times until the account is financially up to date. We want you to know that our staff will work hard to provide the finest orthodontic care.  We too have families and children and understand your scheduling concerns.  We will do everything we can to ensure that your treatment goes as smoothly as possible.
 

INITIAL BRACKET PLACEMENTS, BANDINGS, IMPRESSIONS FOR APPLIANCES, REPAIRS:   These appointments are more detailed and technique-sensitive.  Therefore, these appointments will be scheduled before 3pm. Placing initial braces, changing archwires, impressions for retainers, Invisalign impressions, archwire changes and other time consuming procedures are scheduled in the earlier parts of our day.

 
 
ADJUSTMENT APPOINTMENTS: Routine office visits will be scheduled every 6 to 8 weeks to monitor your progress and make necessary orthodontic adjustments.  In most cases, we can accommodate most of our patient's schedules. We see routine adjustment appointments all day long.
 
EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS:  (Pain, swelling,bleeding, loose brace(s) or broken archwire) This usually results from trauma to the face or mouth. Eating the wrong types of foods, chewing gum or playing with the braces is the normal cause of broken appliances.  Emergency patients will be seen as soon as possible (In most cases, on the day you call) and given appropriate care or referred to another specialist for treatment if necessary. If a brace is loose or a wire broken, we will only remove the broken parts to make you comfortable. We will then reschedule you for a repair appointment as soon as our schedule permits. Please understand that we have our normally scheduled patients that appreciate being seen and treated at their scheduled time. We try not to have emergency visits disrupt anyone's previously reserved time. We thank you for your understanding.
 
BROKEN OR MISSED APPOINTMENTS:  Another appointment will be scheduled as soon as possible, but may require waiting 2 to 5 weeks.  An appointment during work/school hours may be arranged sooner.
 
Thank you very much for understanding! If you have questions or wish to discuss your appointment scheduling, please call the office.
 
I have read, understand and agree to the scheduling information above:
 

X __________________________ X __________________________             ______________________

Patient/Parent(s) Signature(s)                                                                 Date Signed
PLEASE PRINT THIS LETTER AND BRING TO YOUR NEXT APPT. THANK YOU....Dr. Paul Ouellette & Staff