First, please accept my sincere apology for the email that you may have received from our office earlier this evening. It was sent to our communications server on Sunday evening and apparently, they have had some issues. That information is now out of date! I am disappointed with their service and sorry for the confusion.

We are all aware of the ever-changing environment surrounding us with regards to COVID19 and Coronavirus. New information is coming to us at an alarming rate, and we are trying hard to respond to the best of our ability based on updates as they become available. We are juggling the challenges of meeting our patients’ needs who are in various stages of treatment, with the concerns of public health and safety.

Today, the South Carolina Dental Association Board of Governors released a statement which reads, in part, that they “recommend to dentists across the state to suspend all but urgent and emergency care in all dental offices for 14 days.” Unfortunately, that includes orthodontic care. I am working with the SCDA, outlining what protocols we implemented in our office today while seeing patients, and asking that they permit offices to use discretion if they can remain open for select procedures. I believe the patients we saw today would agree that extreme precautions were taken, and they felt more than safe and protected, as always, during their visit. I believe people are safer in such offices, utilizing universal precautions and personal protection equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, etc), than in other public places.

With my communications throughout the country and internationally, I fear we will be subject to further restrictions, personally and professionally. Certain cities on the west coast are seeing serious restrictions being enforced. With this in mind, I don’t foresee South Carolina becoming more lenient.

The good news is that there is no true orthodontic emergency. We will remain available to handle patient concerns for the foreseeable future, to the best of our ability in a limited capacity. We ask for your continued patience and prayer during this challenging time. You can feel confident we will handle this with the Summers Ortho standards of care, which you know are nothing “standard.” We will get through this, and all will be well. We will continue to deliver unparalleled customer service to each of you and your dream smile will be back on track in no time! This too shall pass… And in the end, I pray the country comes together for the betterment of our communities and this small delay will not have any negative lasting effect. We will do our best to make up any lost time, rest assured. But you already know that about Summers Ortho.

We will not be seeing our regularly scheduled patients until Monday, March 30, 2020, per the SCDA recommendations. If you have an urgent orthodontic need, please know we will make ourselves available to help you during limited hours, which may be fluid in the coming days.

Please continue to look for updates on social media and in emails from our office, and on Google for  office hours.

God bless each of you and your families. Stay healthy and make good choices!

Warmly, Dr. Jeff Summers and the Summers Ortho familiy