Earlier in March, the American Dental Association and the Surgeon General requested all elective procedures- including dental procedures- be postponed until the COVID-19 outbreak was more controlled. Given the nature of many oral procedures, dental clinicians are at a higher risk of both spreading and contracting the novel corona virus.
As dentist offices closed, many clinicians took it upon themselves to fight the outbreak by donating personal protective equipment or PPE to frontline healthcare workers. Reports from all over the country including Massachusetts, San Diego, Pennsylvania, and Virginia highlighting dental offices supporting the health of their local communities by providing masks, gloves, gowns, and other PPE to hospitals with shortages.
Check out these shootouts on social media:
Just got b from a UCSF PPE dropoff! Gf family came in to help donate medical supplies this week. Got all this from the dentist offices down south!
?1,300 Masks
?550 Pairs of Gloves
?25 Isolation Gowns
?1 Bottle of Hand SaniFor all the medical staff out there.? pic.twitter.com/j7KlTxquQl
— Kawa (@KawaTweeter) March 29, 2020
The ODA staff collected 20,000 masks from the Oklahoma Mission of Mercy storage unit. We delivered them to Dr. Paul Mullasseril, who will distribute them to the OU Medical Campus!
Please consider donating your office’s extra PPE to local hospitals in need. pic.twitter.com/kI1Bnf5DVh
— Oklahoma Dental Association (@OklaDentalAssoc) March 23, 2020
CU Dental is donating personal protection equipment (PPE) to help medical personnel on the frontlines fight COVID-19.
More:https://t.co/AnTB2cOQkR pic.twitter.com/5Jgo7MXaQq
— CU School of Dental Medicine (@CUDentalMed) March 27, 2020
Thank you to @NYUDental, @NYUNursing for donating PPE to NYC hospitals and healthcare workers #COVID19 #VioletPride https://t.co/1pmn8FWhVd
— NYU Dentistry Alumni (@NYUDentalAlumni) March 25, 2020
We appreciate the oral health workforce stepping up and contributing to communities across the United States. Proud of who we are and what we do!
Post authored by:
Annaliese Cothron | Executive Director
The American Institute of Dental Public Health
cothron@aidph.org
