To Patients and Families of Graber and Gyllenhaal Orthodontics:

While the past year has been one of the most challenging in the 75 year history of our practice, we could not have made it through without the cooperation and support of our amazing team and patients. After a short initial closure at the beginning of the pandemic, our offices reopened to patient care on May 18, 2020 with new policies and procedures in place. We are proud that we have been able to keep our patients, team members, and doctors safe during such an uneasy year. One year later, we are happy to update you that we are now able to relax some of those policies. Rest assured that we continue to follow the Illinois Department of Health, Illinois Dental Society, American Dental Association, and CDC’s guidance on resuming orthodontic care in Illinois.

As always, the health of our patients and team is our top priority. Please carefully review these updated procedures, as they will pertain to all patients during this time.

Please check in to the appointment from your car by texting the Vernon Hills office at 847-367-4920 and the Glenview office at 847-281-0125. We will message back when it is time for the patient to enter.

With the exciting news that Illinois will be entering the “Bridge to Phase 5” on May 14, 2021 we now have a plan to re-open our reception area. As long as the current trajectory continues as anticipated, Illinois will reach Phase 5 on Friday, June 11 and we will officially reopen reception starting Monday, June 14, 2021. We will take a slow approach to bringing back magazines, iPads, games, movies and our coffee stations. Please note that you will still *text* us upon your arrival to check-in, and we will still message back when it is time for the patient and any accompanying guest to enter the office. You can also choose to remain in the car if you do not wish to enter our reception room.

Beginning June 14, both patients and accompanying guests are permitted to enter the office. As stated above, we will still ask that patients and guests wait to enter the office until we are ready for the patient to be seated in our clinic. We will be screening all entrants into the office for temperature and signs of illness. Parents will be invited into the consultation room for child new patient exams. However, guests will be asked to wait in the reception area during routine checkup appointments. (As before the pandemic, only patients will be permitted in the clinic.)

Caretakers may absolutely still choose to remain in their car for the duration of the appointment rather than waiting in the reception area. For teens and younger patients, we will provide a Report Summary of your child’s visit after each appointment and instructions on scheduling the next appointment. We will also be available to answer post-visit questions by email, text, or phone if you prefer not to enter the reception room.

As a healthcare facility, the CDC and Illinois State Dental Society are still mandating that everyone in our office, regardless of vaccination status, must continue to wear a face mask.

Before each appointment, please brush your teeth at home, as our brushing stations will remain closed. In addition, we will require all patients to swish for 30 seconds with a disinfecting hydrogen peroxide oral rinse. This rinse is completely safe and available over the counter. 

We are continuing to take stringent infection control measures to sterilize instruments and sanitize the clinic. In addition, we have added a Hyper HEPA air purifying system to our offices. Our team will be wearing extra PPE and all team members will wear a mask at all times, including our administrative team.

We will require that you reschedule your appointment if the patient or anyone in the family has been sick with a fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, or any of the CDC reported symptoms of COVID-19, or has a recent positive diagnosis for COVID-19 within the past 10 days.

The measures summarized in this information update are being taken for your safety.  At any time when you leave your home there is a risk of exposure to illness.  In our office we have always focused on the use of healthcare universal precautions as a protection for our patients and office team. 

Please watch for update emails from our office as the recommendations for healthcare patients and caregivers have been changing–and will continue to do so. The health of our patients and team is our top priority.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time!