Professional Courtesy: When COVID-19 Went Viral: A Timeline by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, editorial director, Dentaltown magazine

I’m writing this on St. Patrick’s Day, or the beginning of our national self-quarantine, depending on whether you’re looking at a wall calendar or your TV. The new coronavirus pandemic is such an unprecedented event that I wanted to share some early thoughts, memories and opinions about living and working through it.

At first, just an “overseas issue”

The earliest reports in January described an unfamiliar place on a faraway continent, and I felt only the detached sadness that so many sad stories around the world often inspire. By the end of the month, this world event became closer when a friend asked if I could order masks for his co-worker who lives in China; she was afraid and resources were scarce. When I ordered him a box of N-95 masks, I noticed even then that some were showing as out of stock.

In February, we learned that Gonzaga University’s satellite campus in Florence, Italy, had closed and ordered the students, including my son, to return home. Meanwhile, I took a chilly trip to the Chicago Midwinter meeting, then returned to Arizona and watched a spring training game before driving to California for a long spring break weekend with the kids. The coronavirus was certainly a hot topic by that point, but nothing had been canceled and American life continued to roll on.

An outbreak on U.S. soil

I returned to an abundance of message boards on the subject and the more I read, the more I realized we were facing a huge problem: a viral outbreak that had been declared a pandemic and had infiltrated cities across the U.S., claiming dozens of lives (at that point).

In the practice, I asked our team what they were hearing from patients: Were people concerned? Any cancellations due to this situation? All was normal on Thursday, March 12, and we were off the next day because I don’t like to work on Friday the 13th. That turned out to be a blessing, because that long weekend revealed some serious cracks in the system.

By Monday afternoon, Dentaltown’s message boards were abuzz as members shared information they’d received from their state dental associations and it was becoming clear that we’d soon need to shut our doors.

At our Tuesday morning huddle, I told the staff that we’d go to emergency patients only for the next two weeks, following advice from the CDC, to “flatten the curve.” As of this writing, Congress has not resolved the issue of paid sick time, but I assured the team that they’d be paid for the next two weeks as if they’d worked a regular schedule. I can’t begin to describe the visible relief and their appreciation of that gesture.

What lies ahead, hope or dread?

Time will tell how the rest of this story goes, but I hope by the time this issue hits your mailbox, we’re all back to joyfully restoring teeth from the ravages of tooth decay and occlusal forces.

Looking ahead, we’ll be faced with many financial, logistical and emotional challenges. Based on current conversations, we’re likely to receive some relief from the government on sick pay for at least two weeks and I’m also curious to see our options for handling the loss of revenue. When this trickled into our corner of the world, I gave my team a form to track every canceled appointment associated with COVID-19. Rescheduling that many patients is going to be tedious, and it will likely force us to give up some precious days out of the office.

The emotional challenges include wondering how long before I can cough in public without turning heads, when can I shake hands again, and when will the general public go back to not washing their hands? Some more practical questions: How long before the worldwide supply and demand for toilet paper is back in balance? What would life be like if caries or gum disease received the same attention as COVID-19? When a vaccine is eventually developed and approved, will people get it or blow it off like they do the flu vaccine? Let’s not do this again next year.

Please share your current situation in the numerous COVID-19 threads on Dentaltown.com, or in the comments section of this article online. I’m also available via email: tom@dentaltown.com.