Getting Back To Work

The shutdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic caused a lot of disruption in our daily lives. The efforts made by Dr. Berenshteyn and the team at Adirondack Orthodontics helped maintain treatment for thousands of patients throughout the Capital Region. The Post Star recently featured how the team was able to adapt to ensure that our patients were getting the best possible care.

Read The Article

Improving the Patient Experience With Our New Website and Online Tools

We’re thrilled that all Adirondack Orthodontics’ offices have reopened, but we’ve also learned that patients and families appreciate the opportunity to connect with us from their homes. So, we’re making it easier than ever to access the tools and information you need to make the right decisions about your oral health.
On June 1, we launched a new website that includes several online tools to assist both current and new patients.

Smile Assessment Tool
Take our quick and easy smile assessment to get a better idea of the orthodontic treatment that may be right for you or your child. Once we understand your concerns, we can begin to put together a treatment plan. All you’ll need to do after that is make an appointment with one of our Smile Ambassadors, which you can do while using our Smile Assessment tool.

Payment Calculator
We believe in being upfront when it comes to the cost of treatment. Use our payment calculator to understand how your payments will be spread out over time. We offer completely customized plans because we believe everyone should be able to afford the perfect smile – and remember, we are a participating provider with nearly every insurance plan.
Our payment calculator can estimate the cost of your treatment based on your initial payment, how much insurance will pay, the length of the treatment, and more.

Online Bill Payment
Paying your bills from the comfort and safety of your home is more essential than ever. Utilize our secure online bill payment option any time you need to make a payment. If you have any questions, our trained and friendly staff is always available to help you.

Explore Our Website
We hope you’ll take a few minutes to look through our new website and check out the many great things happening at Adirondack Orthodontics. Whether you’re a current or new patient, we’re sure you’ll like what you see, and if we can be of service, we’d love to talk to you. Don’t hesitate to contact your nearest office in Albany, Clifton Park, Latham, or East Greenbush. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Signs Of Optimism

This article originally was posted in the Albany Business Journal

Dr. Sergey Berenshteyn prepared himself for a difficult conversation.

It was mid-March and the curve of the coronavirus pandemic was starting to arc upward. He knew there would be consequences for his orthodontics practice — it’s a business in which people are literally face to face every day. You can’t have people working so closely without risking spread of the virus.

Berenshteyn gathered his staff. They talked through options before reaching a consensus: three-quarters of them would need to be furloughed.

“Even though everything was based on facts, personally, it was just the hardest day of my life to have to break such news to 20 people,” Berenshteyn said.

Before the crisis, Adirondack Orthodontics had seen about 60 patients per day at its four locations around the Albany region, including one that had just opened. The practice typically works with upwards of 2,000 patients in various stages of treatment. A lot of them are teenagers who require regular instructions and reminders.

Berenshteyn and the remaining staff have found ways to adapt. They’re conducting virtual office visits, mailing out new rubber bands. For urgent cases, he schedules a time to meet in the office.

The furloughed staff have kept in touch with questions about when they can come back and what they can do in the meantime. During a video call, some of them volunteered to help figure out how to run the practice in the Covid-19 world. Berenshteyn paid them for their time.

“These people want to help me; these people want to be back to work. They care about the patients; they care about the practice,” he said. “Amid all this, this really was a feel-good moment.

Berenshteyn is anxious to get them all back to work. Adirondack Orthodontics wasn’t able to secure a PPP loan during the first round. Without the loan, he’d be limited to a skeleton crew upon reopening.

He was worried about getting shut out in round two, but found success applying through T Bank.

“I reread the letter because I wasn’t sure I read it correctly,” Berenshteyn said, recalling the moment when the email arrived about the approval.

With the loan in hand, he could bring back his full staff. And he felt better about being able to work through the backlog of postponed patient visits.

Then there was the longer-term future. New patient inquires had evaporated completely during the first weeks of the crisis.

“When economic times are uncertain, you just don’t know when orthodontic treatments will be a concern for new patients,” Berenshteyn said.

But beginning in mid-April, he started getting a couple of new calls each day.

“I feel like people started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “I look at it as a positive sign because at this time, while everything is still closed, for people to be calling us is already great.”

Berenshteyn and his staff have put together a plan to prevent spread of the virus after the offices reopen. They will encourage social distancing in the office and space out appointments to make sure waiting rooms aren’t busy. Virtual visits and consultations will continue.

He’s just waiting on the go-ahead from the New York State Dental Association.

And the phone keeps ringing as the number of new patient inquiries continues to rise during May.

“These are the types of signs that make me really optimistic that things will start heading toward normalcy for everyone.”

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