March e-News
A Message from the President and Secretary General
Join us for one of the most exciting events of 2020!
Dear IAPD member,
As you know, since late last year, governments and institutions around the world have been responding in various ways to the threats posed by COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The situation is now accelerating very rapidly. The World Health Organization has determined that COVID-19 is at the level of a global pandemic.
IAPD is an international organization with members throughout the entire world. Each one of us is experiencing this new situation at the same time but with diverse realities. Many governments have restricted movements of its citizens. Schools have been closed, borders sealed, public and even family gatherings have been cancelled. The pediatric dental community is being challenged both professionally and financially with little guidance as to how to cope and act during these difficult times.
However, the IAPD as a community may support each other. Our video library remains available for at home education. Webinars are under preparation and will be broadcast within the next couple of weeks. The science committee will share with our membership up-to-date information and articles for your consideration.
We understand many of you may be feeling isolated as we are encouraged to distance ourselves from others and community events are cancelled. But remember, we are all in this together. We therefore want to urge you to continue to find ways to connect with your loved ones during this time; stay connected through the phone, emails, Zoom, Facebook, etc. Perhaps instead of saying “social isolation,” we could refer to “physical isolation.” Let’s support each other during this time of need.
Whatever stage you and your country have reached, please know that all of us at the IAPD are thinking of you. We wish you good health as we pass through this public health crisis together to protect the health and safety of our patients, families, loved ones and our communities.
Sincerely,
Marcelo Bönecker
President
Ari Kupietzky
Secretary General
Staying Informed - A word from the Science Chair, Prof Norman Tinanoff
We are facing a world-wide-health crisis, and we still have to deal with this situation without clear guidelines regarding the COVID-19 and dentistry. Certainly, most dental practices now are limiting their practices to emergency care at least for the next few weeks.
However, some information that can be gathered from the medical side that may relate to dental emergency services. Perhaps the first case with the most widespread infection in Wuhan was an endoscopic pituitary surgery. Reportedly, all 14 people who came in and out of the OR during that case became infected. Additionally, a significant number of doctors who have become infected in China, Italy and Iran are ENTs and Ophthalmologists, possibly due to the high viral shedding from the nasal cavity. The use of air/water spray, nitrous oxide equipment, ultrasonic instruments, and high-speed hand pieces produce aerosols that increase the chance of COVID -19 transmission and therefore should be limited. One also should evaluate if dental emergency care can be addressed with antibiotics, pain medication, and temporary fillings. If a patient has the virus, but urgently requires dental treatment, the dentist and the patient’s medical providers should work together to determine the appropriate precautions on a case-by-case basis.
Since this is a new infective agent with new information is coming out almost daily, it is prudent to keep informed about the virus, taking necessary precautions for dental care, by keeping up with the latest WHO, ADA, CDC websites.
WHO Messaging Service
WHO launched a messaging service with partners WhatsApp and Facebook to keep people safe from coronavirus.
This easy-to-use messaging service has the potential to reach 2 billion people and enables WHO to get information directly into the hands of the people that need it.
From government leaders to health workers and family and friends, this messaging service will provide the latest news and information on coronavirus including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves and others. It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real time to help government decision-makers protect the health of their populations.
The service can be accessed through this link that opens a conversation on WhatsApp.
Users can simply type “hi” to activate the conversation, prompting a menu of options that can help answer their questions about COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Norman Tinanoff
Chair, Science Committee