Orthotown June 2020 - 25

all get through this-and that if you are
alive and breathing, it's a damn good day.
April 9: Have I necessarily been "in
quarantine" in the same place the entire
time? Meh. I've crossed a couple of state
lines, but more or less the answer is yes. It's
been more than two weeks since I saw my
last patient and I find myself wondering,
"Am I losing my hand strength or is that
just my imagination?"
That high of sending out care packages
to patients was quite awhile ago. I'm now
getting a few emails a day from patients
asking if I can send them more rubber
bands or aligners. That's good and all,
except now I need to be more organized
about it because I'm four hours away from
my office. Thank goodness for Alli, my
front desk staffer, who is braving the New
York subway system into the office once per
week to ship out the items.

Quarantine Week 4
April 13: You have to apply for PPP
relief through the bank you have a business
account with, not a personal account.
I run Smile Pop out of my business
account with PNC, but for my independent
contractor job I deposit the 1099 stubs into
my Chase personal account. I explain that
I'm an independent contracted orthodontist
and my paychecks get deposited into my
Chase account but I'm unable to apply to the
PPP because I don't have a business account
with them, so I'd like to open one. However,
PPP applications are open only to those who
had a business checking account before
Feb. 25. The second set of quarantine tears
starts to form. (The first set happened when
the website kept crashing while I was trying
to apply for the PPP loan for my business.)
Long story short: They advise me to
file for unemployment as an independent
contractor. I ask if that's right: I'm still paying
staff at a newly opened private practice, but
I'm going to be filing for unemployment?
If you're going to dip your toe in being
a business, treat it that way. Open a business checking account right away if you
start receiving money as an independent

contractor. Get advice from a trusted financial
person and not, like in my case, your dad.

Quarantine Week 5
April 22: I found out a few days ago they
ran out of money for the PPP loan and I
didn't get it. But Ruth's Chris steakhouse
did? Hopefully, I can afford a steak when this
thing is all over. [Editor's note: The steakhouse
ended up returning its $20 million loan.] I'm
still paying my employees, and to say I'm
disappointed would be an understatement.
I also found out a few days ago that the
stay-at-home order in New York has been
extended to May 15. A few four-letter words
came to mind.
These past few days, I've been waking
up feeling "meh." I think it's because right
away I wake up and am busy, but not the
same kind of busy that I typically like.
Things I normally pay someone else for or
simply don't normally have to do are eating
up a lot of my daytime hours.
Here's a simplistic breakdown of my days:
* Zoom checkups or consultations
with patients.
* Ordering new or replacement
clear aligners.
* Posting to Instagram and YouTube.
* Zoom meeting with an
orthodontic social media group.
* Running 3 -4 miles.
(Ick, I hate running.)
* Cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Then dishes, dishes, dishes.
* Pondering if it's too early to have
a Bud Light Seltzer or if I should
have one at all.
* Read a little bit for fun. Go to sleep.
Do it all over again.
I think the hardest part for me during
all of this is the emotional time and energy
I spend trying to decatastrophize this whole
pause on life with my patients. I don't
have the answers, but I can tell you what
I think about it all: We'll come back. It'll
be different. But we are all trying to figure
out how to manage it.
The most stressful part of my day is the

Zoom virtual check-ins with patients talking
about aspects of life other than their teeth.
The other hard part for me is that I'm
using Instagram or YouTube as a creative
outlet. I'll post something educational, or
funny, or break down a case for people. I
enjoy it and it takes a lot of work, but I feel
as if then a patient of mine sees it, comes
out of the woodwork and says: What about
meeeee? Why am I not that far advanced?
Patients don't always understand that, just
like in life, everyone is in different stages
and advancing at different rates. Looks like
my next Instagram post is going to be a PSA
about staying in your own lane.
April 24: It's Friday, the end of another
long week where I find myself cranking out
10-12 hours of work per day. How? No clue!
One thing I realize after a long week of
virtual checkups and virtual consultations:
I'm happy I've set boundaries.
The Zoom meetings are scheduled every
30 minutes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which
seems like a short duration but there are
chart notes, treatment plans and follow-ups
that need to be done.
I've made sure I set aside 1½ hours every
day to do some type of workout, because
my daily step count is down almost 75%.
For a girl getting married in less than four
months, that's not good.
I find myself drained at the end of this
week. I don't know if it was the disappointment of not getting the PPP loan that did

Jump into the
discussion today!
Townies are flocking to Orthotown's
COVID-19 message boards to discuss
the pandemic and how practicing is
adapting around it. Head online and
check out the growing number of
conversations, along with podcasts,
CE courses and more to help you come
out of this a stronger, more prepared
practitioner. Go to orthotown.com!

orthotown.com \\ JUNE 2020

OT0620_Scheifelbein_Covid_AG.indd 25

25
5/27/20 9:50 AM
https://www.orthotown.com/SearchAdvanced.aspx?q=covid-19 http://www.orthotown.com
Orthotown June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown June 2020
