COVID-19

Do you find that the negativity found online has become almost overwhelming? Social media is inundated with horror stories of terrible dental offices and horrible shortages of protective gear. We can scroll for hours and find hundreds of posts and comments revealing fear as well as a lack of respect within the dental office for both staff and patients. This...

Most dental professionals are back to work sporting new PPE and maybe a little anxiety to boot. Clinical treatment during a pandemic has led to a spectrum of emotions, ranging from being frightened to loving the opportunity to be back to a more normal way of life. No matter where you fall on that spectrum of emotions, it is important...

Editor's Note: Information about COVID-19 is changing on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. We have made every attempt to ensure this article is up-to-date at the time of publication (June 28, 2020), but with the rapid changes occurring, some information may have changed since publication. Please visit https://www.coronavirus.gov/ for the latest news and information on COVID-19. The worldwide spread of the...

In dentistry, saliva has traditionally been more of a nuisance than anything else. Dental hygienists know the constant struggle of trying to keep patients from choking during a prophy or attempting to keep a tooth dry when placing a sealant. Yet, what if saliva holds the key to integrating medicine and dentistry? Salivary diagnostics is an insightful tool that dental...

Since the shut down over COVID-19, the dental world as we know it has changed, and teledentistry has become an industry buzz word. Although offices were closed, the need for emergency treatment did not stop. The time to already have a teledentistry platform in place had passed. Unfortunately, many offices fell short of this much-needed tool when they didn’t have...

Editor's Note: Information about COVID-19 is changing on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. We have made every attempt to ensure this article is up-to-date at the time of publication (June 20, 2020), but with the rapid changes occurring, some information may have changed since publication. Please visit https://www.coronavirus.gov/ for the latest news and information on COVID-19. Masks have long been a...

As a society and a profession, we are facing an extremely stressful time. The COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions are not only a public health emergency, but it has quickly become an emotional and mental health crisis. Stress-related depression and anxiety are rising while families are trapped at home with no or little income, homeschooling children, and under a constant barrage...

Recent world events have created an extremely stressful situation for dental professionals. The cumulative tension of income loss, homeschooling, isolation, lack of essential items, partner power struggles, being inundated with new safety information, and returning to work with stringent infection control mandates may become unendurable for many. Some of us are returning to work and adjusting to the “new normal.”...

Has anyone asked you how the COVID-19 epidemic has affected you, our dental professionals? We hear about the effects that the disease has on doctors and emergency personnel, who are no doubt heroes, but those of us who spend our days literally in the mouth of danger are tremendously affected as well. Italy has an excruciating number of infected...

Editor's Note: Information about COVID-19 is changing on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. We have made every attempt to ensure this article is up-to-date at the time of publication (May 26, 2020), but with the rapid changes occurring, some information may have changed since publication. Please visit https://www.coronavirus.gov/ for the latest news and information on COVID-19. Article updated June 19, 2020...