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After my last post about a large PPE donation to @umichmedicine from @UmichDentistry a few people messaged me to say why don’t we close the dental school and donate all our PPE? But we remain open for emergency services and here’s why…..
I have studied hospital resource utilization for over a decade. One of our studies (which was the cover story in Journal of @AmerDentalAssn) showed that there are 1.4 million ER visits for basic dental problems each year in the US. https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-8177(14)60010-6/abstract
But that’s in a normal year. An executive order has stopped elective dental procedures across Michigan (which I completely endorse and thank @GovWhitmer) to combat spread of #COVID19. As we pause routine care it's is inevitable that dental emergencies will increase.
It is our responsibility as dentists to prevent basic dental emergencies ending up in our emergency rooms. Our medical colleagues are swamped and this is the best way we can serve during this crisis.
If you want to donate to @umichmedicine here’s the link: https://www.uofmhealth.org/news/archive/202003/u-m-asks-community-donate-gear-protect-health-care-workers
