President’s Message

Disaster Preparedness

Wow. We didn’t see this one coming. An international biological disaster descended upon us and, within six weeks and by government fiat, our offices were inaccessible for routine patient care. Similar to other common disasters, fire, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes that physically damage your place of business, this national disaster left us unable to make a living. We were economically damaged by the restrictions placed upon us by the government authorities. How do we protect ourselves against the economic disruption caused by an epidemic? This issue of the Nugget contains articles from individuals involved in disasters, both mass disasters and single office disasters. Dr. Jim Wood, a forensic dentist, provides his perspective on identifying the remains of the victims from many mass disasters he has witnessed and served as a forensic consultant for. The other articles are narratives about the destruction of individual offices, also discussing the procedures and systems in place to facilitate the recovery back to a productive office. This Nugget is a good read with something to learn from the misfortunes of others. How come I wasn’t prepared for this COVID-19 epidemic? Where did I put my “Epidemic Business Interruption Policy?” That’s right, I don’t have one. I haven’t heard of that coverage during the 40 years I have practiced dentistry. Business Interruption Policies usually cover overhead when your business is shut down as a result of physical damage to the facility or a personal disability of the dentist, not a government imposed shutdown due to a public health crisis. If I only had 6 months of operating reserves stashed away I could weather the disruption caused by the imposed shutdown. With the current overhead in dental practice, it’s very difficult to accumulate reserves like that. I am sure that insurance companies will begin to offer policies that cover epidemic business interruption.

By Carl Hillendahl, DDS 2020 SDDS President

Businesses stand to lose billions from this coronavirus epidemic. Fortunately the Government, as insurer of last resort, stepped up to provide programs and fiscal policies to help mitigate the economic harm so far created. The total expense of this epidemic is yet to be calculated. Probably 4 trillion maybe more in additional government borrowing adding to the national debt and 250 to 300 thousand lives. I know of two dentists filing bankruptcy and closing their offices and I heard estimates that upwards to 30% of offices nationwide may end up in bankruptcy court as additional fallout from this pandemic. I hope everyone is protecting employees and staying healthy. 

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