Lifestyle reached out to businesspeople all over South Florida—in categories ranging from retail and real estate to medical and automotive—and asked three questions: How did COVID-19 and the shutdown impact your business; how did you position your business in the interim; how will experiencing this unprecedented pandemic change the way you conduct business moving forward? Today, we check in with Federico Diez and Juan C. Arroyo of Dentalmed Associates.
Business backstory: The Miramar-based practice, led by Diez and Arroyo, offers everything from general dentistry and prosthodontics (aesthetic restoration and replacement of teeth) to implant dentistry and countless other state-of-the-art specialty services. (dentalmedassociates.com)
The impact: “We have increased our disinfecting protocols of all surfaces, and we are minimizing [waiting room interaction] by trying to accommodate patients at specific times—and asking anyone accompanying these patients to wait outside. We’ve also been treating the air inside our office with natural essential-oil diffusers that promote a healthier environment and help boost the immune system. We’ve minimized our operation hours [9 a.m. to 1 p.m.] and days [Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays]. Our office is open to our emergency patients only—and to other emergency patients from dental offices that have decided not to remain open. We actively screen all our patients by phone and/or when they get to our office. If they exhibit or complain of any [coronavirus] symptoms, we politely reschedule them and treat [their dental issue] with medication to mediate their emergency symptoms.”
In the interim: “Dentalmed Associates wants to support our patients by offering free consultations and x-rays for the month of May [if conditions and the situation permits]. … As part of the health Teamwork Force, we also can help minimize emergency room visits [pertaining to] dental situations, [thus diminishing the chances of being] infected by the virus during an ER visit.”
The future: “The way we conduct our business will be greatly impacted because we can clearly see how everyday life has been affected by this pandemic. If we don’t accept and learn from this new era of changes, then we have learned nothing from this.”
Pictured above: Federico Diez (prosthodontist) and Juan C. Arroyo (oral and maxillofacial surgeon); Photo by Karlo Raul Lugo
