Like a bad dream or a late winter storm striking in early spring, the feared and tiresome COVID-19 virus is slowly retreating from our daily lives.
Week by week, businesses and offices are reopening, more people are out and about, and the dread and uncertainty of the past several weeks is giving way to hope, cautious optimism and the promise of normalcy.
Like many occupations, the dental community is just one of many who have been forced to put patient treatment on hold while their waiting rooms remained quiet and empty.
In the month of May alone, checkups and elective surgery procedures were delayed once again as the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) issued guidelines, revised those guidelines and re-revised them based on the latest models, projections and scientific analysis.
The one constant during the COVID pandemic has been uncertainty, and that anxiety has been especially acute among dentists just beginning their careers.
“Newbie” dentists have been especially vulnerable to the shutdown due to student debt and the lack of resources available to those dentists as compared to those with returning patients and a few years of practical experience.
During the shelter-in-place order many associates or employee dentists have been impacted just as millions of others who have been furloughed or lost their jobs entirely.
We’ve heard a lot of platitudes during this trying time about, “We’re all in this together” and “Let’s come together” and "Together we got this.” Feel good bumper stickers and slogans are nice, but two oral health organizations are adding cash to their cheer-leading.
Crest® and Oral-B® announced in mid-May they are offering a $250,000 grant to newly minted ADA-accredited dentists to help them meet expenses and compensate staff during the temporary downturn.
“New dentists and their teams are particularly susceptible to economic hardship during these difficult times,” said Dr. Stephanie Gans, North America professional and scientific relations manager for P&G Professional Oral Health, the parent company of Oral-B®.
“Our hope is that our grant to the new dentist program will help provide the resources needed to help dental professionals overcome the current obstacles posed by COVID- 19 and flourish as oral health care providers.”
According to ADA Health Policy Institute polling, new dentists were more likely to have financial disadvantages directly related to COVID-19. They were also less likely to receive full pay and Small Business Administration’s Payment Protection loans compared to more established dentists.
The $250,000 grant is part of Crest® and Procter & Gamble’s larger effort through Oral-B® to support the dental community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: ada.org
Photo source: P&G.com
Copyright 2020, Bloom Insurance Agency, LLC©