Oral Health Care in the Time of COVID Nanette Elster JD, MPH, FACD
Ms. Elster serves as the Director of Communications for the American College of Dentists and is an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Dentists.
REFERENCES 1. Sandars J. The use of reflection in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 44. Med Teach. 2009; 31:685–95. doi: 10.1080/01421590903050374. 2. Koop, C.E. (2000). Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Md.; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health.
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elcome to the first eJACD. In the coming months, the new journal format will continue to present scholarly articles and engaging editorials. In light of events the vast changes and varied experiences of the profession resulting from the pandemic, this first issue will be a little bit different, offering reflections and experiences of dentists who have been working tirelessly to safely maintain their practices for their patients, staffs and themselves. Reflective writing is used in many health care professions as both a tool for teaching and tool for learning. “Reflection . . . can be considered as a process in which thoughts are ‘turned back’ so that they can be interpreted or analysed. The trigger to this sense-making process is usually an event or situation and the outcome of the process is increased understanding or awareness. These insights can then be used in the future when faced with a similar event or situation. It is often through reflective writing that both the reader and the writer can begin to make sense of a confusing, evocative or life altering experience.”1 The COVID-19 Pandemic has given
rise to much that is unclear, ill-defined and forever, life altering not only for individuals but for professions as well. What follows are several reflective essays from dentists from different settings, at different stages in their practice and in different parts of the country with differing rules and regulations. By sharing their written reflections, discussions can begin throughout the profession on how to rebuild, reconcile, and reevaluate personal and professional identities. In reading the five articles that follow many commonalities can be found despite the difference in geographic location, age of the practitioner, years of practice, area of specialty as well as type of setting from private practice to the educational setting. From the early days of confusion, perhaps fear during the pandemic, the professionalism and ethics of dentistry have been steadfast. In each reflection, the commitment to patients, peers and the profession is evident. What is also evident is that dentists are integral primary care providers and must be included in public health planning and preparedness. In the 2000 Surgeon General’s Report, Oral Health in America, identified a key action item to: “Change perceptions regarding oral health and disease so that oral health becomes an accepted component of general health.”2 This included, changing public perceptions, policy makers perceptions and public perceptions.2 While a new report is due out, the imperative of this action item is highlighted in the five reflective pieces presented here. 2021 Volume 88, Number 1
