KDA Members,
“Anything said in advance of a pandemic seems alarmist. After a pandemic begins, anything one has said or done is inadequate.”
Those are the words of Michael O. Leavitt, former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush and three-term Governor of Ohio. While there are innumerable quotes I could reference, these words have stuck in my mind the last few weeks.
Because of the extraordinary and rapidly changing reality of COVID-19 in our lives, I am emailing a special President’s Message this month, in addition to the one I have already prepared for the
Journal of the Kansas Dental Association (JKDA)
.
On March 16, the ADA issued this statement:
“In order for dentistry to do its part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the ADA recommends dentists nationwide postpone elective procedures for the next three weeks. Concentrating on emergency dental care will allow us to care for our emergency patients and alleviate the burden that dental emergencies would place on hospital emergency departments.”
You can view the full statement and view the latest information
here
.
Dentists can rationalize every procedure in their appointment book into an emergency. I don’t believe this is either professional or appropriate. I urge you to follow the ADA’s recommendations in order to reduce the number of bodies going through your office. Only treating patients with dental emergencies will ensure you are doing your part to keep patients out of hospital emergency rooms and help to prevent hospitals from becoming overburdened.
In the last 72 hours, I have heard comments ranging from “All of this is overblown,” to “We will have hindsight when this is over, and I don’t want to look back and see that I made a mistake.” I don’t want any of us to look back and wish you had done more to slow the spread of this virus.
It is not the responsibility of the KDA to give you a laundry list of what to do and not do. It is not our job to tell you to close your office. Further, we are not a state regulatory agency.
Other states have put out very aggressive recommendations. As I write this, the state of Kansas has not yet done so. We are electing to rely on each of you to use appropriate, professional judgment in deciding how to proceed, but I emphatically urge you to follow the recommendations set forth by the ADA.
In addition, I suggest you communicate to your business associates, such as dental laboratories, that you will be suspending elective procedures. This will allow them to better respond in their own decision-making in regard to staffing.
I am not your conscience, but I believe we need to take this seriously and demonstrate personal responsibility for the sake of our families, our staff, our patients, and our community. I will be happy if my message turns out to be a “Henny Penny” speech.
