Hi. I'm Dr. Betsy Shapiro, a director with the Practice Institute of the American
Dental Association. If you're a podcast listener you may recognize me as the
host of the ADA's Beyond the Mouth podcast. Today I have the privilege of,
once again, speaking with Dr. Chad Gehani, President of the American Dental
Association. As the COVID-19 crisis brings forth personal professional and
economic challenges for many, Dr. Gehani is here. He's going to answer some
questions about the ADA's response and the work it's doing on behalf of
dentists everywhere. Like many of you, we're sheltering in place. I'm coming to
you from Chicago, and he's coming to you from his home in Long Island, New York.
Welcome, Dr. Gehani. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Wonderful to have you. The
last time we spoke you were just beginning your term as ADA's President.
Boy, what a difference a few months makes, right? Absolutely. There's no way any of
us could have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on all health
care, including dentistry, and of course, on everything else in our lives, too. Now,
about seven months into your presidency you're charged with spearheading ADA's
COVID-19 response efforts. Just to give our listeners some context to this
conversation, we're recording this on the morning of April 9th. And it's important
to note that, because the news is shifting rapidly during this pandemic.
So Dr. Gehani, I'd like to start with this question. I know from a previous
conversation that you actually have two dental families. You have the ADA. And
then you have your own family, which is full of dentists and other medical
professionals. How are you all doing personally? You know, I'm going to tell you. I
have three families. Three? I have my personal family, which is my wife and my
children. They all are dentists. And then, I have a
dental family, which is the American Dental Association and the whole
tripartite, the state dental associations, as well as our component societies. And I
want to tell you the third family, where my practice is. We're practicing in Jackson
Heights, Queens. You all have been hearing about COVID in Elmhurst, Queens. That's like
two blocks from my home. I have not been to my office for the last, I would say,
since March the 16th. But I do get phone calls from the priest. I get the phone
calls from the neighbors, where my office is. And they tell me that "Mr. X" or
"Mrs. Y" passed on. Or "Mr. so-and-so" is now in the hospital. It hits home. It hurts me
here. And it hurts me more when I find out that I can't even go to church; I
can't even go to synagogue; I can't even go to temple to say the prayers for
people who are in the hospital, and who are, actually, who have passed away, and I cannot
pay my last respects. So the last one month has been very
painful to me. But as a leader, I got to keep the emotions to myself. The good
leader shows calmness. And when you see me at the ADA you always see me calm and
relaxed. But when you ask me privately, "How do I feel?" it has been a tough one
month for all of us, especially me and my wife, personally, because the Jackson
Heights neighborhood is really our family.
I so appreciate those sentiments. I think all of us are feeling them. And thank you
for sharing that so candidly with us. It does help to know that we are all in
this together emotionally, as well as whatever else is
happening in our world. At this moment we're going to talk about you as the
president and the leader and the calm voice right now. But [...] what are the
American Dental Association's priorities right now? You know, I want everybody to
know that the American Dental Association has
our back. At the present time we want to be the primary resource of all their
information to the practicing dental community — and our partners, of course —
our tripartite, the state dental associations and our component dental
societies. And they have done a wonderful job working together as a community. We
want to pass on the information that is evidence-based, that is science-based, and
which is very much factual. We have been in touch with many governmental agencies.
And we want to make sure that our practicing dental community is safe. And
more than that, we also want to make sure that our public — that we care so much for —
they have to be safe more than anything else. Many people may not know that we
are also at the same time working on the recovery phase. You know, this stage will
pass by. And after this stage will pass by, what's next? I'm actually going to
name the task force for the recovery today, along with our Board of Trustees.
So [...] our priorities are mixed: to survive now, to get the correct
information to our practicing community, as well as, we are already working on
what do we need to do next. That is fantastic. And I can say from my end,
being on the staff, answering questions, I know the recovery and return to work is
a huge topic of concern for our members: to keep public safe, to keep their
staff safe [...] — your dental team family —and then, themselves, and do
the right thing. And I think we'll find a path. I believe we will. And
you also are aware that we are very active legislatively to represent our
dental profession in Washington DC. And Mike Graham and his entire team has been
working, I would say, 24/7. They have been very active in representing the dental
profession at the US Congress and at the Senate. And they have done a great job on
that. I want to go back to your first answer when you're talking about your
own feelings and emotions and how it's been very difficult.
The ADA has some some health and wellness resources, too, don't they?
Absolutely. And we are actually doubling up our efforts on the health and
wellness of, not only the dentists, but the dental students, and the new dentists,
especially our dentists who are now in the training programs, like the residency
programs. We have been trying to work in different areas to give any kind of
support that the dentists can think of. And we want to be available today.
It's tough. We're all used to being caregivers. And you know, [...] when there's
a crisis like this, we want to jump right in and help. But for right now the best
thing we can do is shelter at home, and then move safely back into the office.
Absolutely. Safety is more important than anything else. On April 1st the ADA
issued an interim recommendation that urged all dental practices to continue
being closed to everything except urgent and emergency care until April 30. And
that's at the earliest right now. We're looking at April 30th. On the same day,
the ADA also released interim guidance for minimizing the risk of COVID-19
transmission during these procedures — these urgent and emergency procedures.
Can you talk to us a little bit about the process for developing and issuing
those items? How does that happen? You know, the decisions like that? They're
quite painful to me. But at the same time, as the leader of our community, we have
to follow what is right for all of us, what is right for our patients and what
is right for our entire dental community. There's a process that we follow. We
have been in touch with the Center for Disease Control constantly. We have been
talking to them almost every day. Sometimes, our science division has been
talking to them twice a day. We have been in touch with the FDA. And we've been in
touch with many governmental agencies. It wasn't the date that we just pulled out
of the hat. We have the division of science, the division of dental practice.
And then we have many other interdisciplinary decisions. And we all
sit together. And we figure out what is in the best interest of our patients,
what is in the best interest of our dental team, and above all, what is most
important for us safety. And then we came out to the conclusion
that April 30th will be possibly a date. And that's only a recommendation. Each
state is different. Each regulatory body is different. The dentist has to follow
what is available or what is being asked of the dentist in their state, by their
state board of dentistry, or even, the governor's executive orders. So we only
recommend what we think will be [a] safer time and in the best interest of our
patients first, us — and of course — our dental team, all together. It's
interesting to hear how that procedure goes, how much work goes into it, and [...]
how it comes out in the end. I'm certain that that is not the last
bit of information that's going to be coming from the ADA. I sort of have an
inside track that they're working on things as time goes by.
What can dentists do to stay informed? [...] You know, I'll speak for me personally. I
log on to ADA.org/virus at least once a day. And being the president of
the ADA, I think I know it all. I think I know it all. But every time I log on to
ADA.org/virus I learn something new. And the Morning Huddle — believe it or
not — I am waiting to see in my email, in my inbox the Morning Huddle. That gives
me up-to-date information. At the present time, I think these are two of my best
resources, where I get all my dental information and, again, up-to-date
information about what's happening in relation to the practice of dentistry
and regulations and everything else. I would suggest that our colleagues do
just the same. I will confess that I do that, as well,
every morning. Because as hard as we are all working we're all on different
projects and sometimes I don't know what's getting completed and gets
the seal of approval and goes out the door. So I have to look in the morning,
just to make sure I didn't miss anything. And I occasionally look at the social
media. But I ask myself, "Is that [...] very reliable information or not?" So, out of
curiosity, I just glance over at the social media. But my best resource is the
ADA.org/virus. Excellent. Okay, Dr. Gehani. I don't
want to seem disrespectful here. But is it okay that if I recognize that
you're one of our more seasoned or experienced colleagues? You've been
around for a while? You're trying to say I'm an older dentist; I have been around
for a while. I'm saying you have experience. So, as an experienced
practicing dentist, to an audience of practicing dentists hoping to be back
into their offices soon, what advice do you have to your colleagues out there?
You know I was trained at Columbia University in 1977, 78, 79. And I was
trained to perform dentistry with bare hands.
There were no gloves. And we occasionally used a face mask when we did very [....]
surgery, or some challenging surgery. Or if we worked in the OR at that time we
wore masks. At that time somebody had hepatitis — that
was the end of the world. Yeah. Okay. Then when I started my practice in 1981, 82 we
got the, so called, huge thing — what we call is HIV AIDS — at that time. And we
didn't think that we will survive that era at that time. We survived that. The
only thing that happened is the practice of dentistry got slightly modified.
Instead of working on the patients with bare hands, then we started wearing the
gloves and the mask. And we wanted to wear the aprons or the gowns. But we
survived. The practice of dentistry slightly changed. We have been hit with
this pandemic, which has been hitting us like [a] tsunami. Every day there's new
news. It's a moving target. This will pass by. We [...] we will see good days at
the end of the tunnel. Of course, the practice of dentistry may slightly, get
modified. I don't know what's at the end of the tunnel. And that's where the ADA
is working hard. Our science division is at hard work with CDC. Of course,
you belong to our recovery team, and you know what we have been trying to do
[...] with the team. And we will come out great, with a slight modification. I
think I, too, was working in a dental office — I wasn't a dentist yet but — in the
70's. No gloves; no nothing; went to dental school, and when I left we wore gloves and
a mask. And I can remember some of the more seasoned dentists at that point in
time saying, "I am never going to be able to practice with gloves. I can't feel. I
need to be able to feel." And, heavens, now we wouldn't touch a patient without
gloves on. Nor would a patient want us to touch
them without gloves on. We're an adaptable lot, aren't we? Yes. And
dentistry is very resilient to any obstacles that are put in front of the
profession. As a profession, it's a great profession. And if I have to do it over
again, I will again want to be a dentist. Dr. Gehani, thank you for chatting with
me today. I really like the feeling that although we are all apart — as you
pointed out — we've never really been more together as a profession than
we are as we move through this. Yes. Thank you for all you're doing to lead the
association on this issue. And I hope that you and your family continue to
stay well and stay strong. Thank you for having me and I wish everybody stay home
and stay safe. Thanks.
To access the ADA's COVID-19 resources, as Dr. Gehani mentioned, visit ADA.org/virus
Be sure and bookmark this page, and visit often, as updates are made very
very regularly. On behalf of the American Dental
Association, I'm Dr. Betsy Shapiro. Thank you for
listening, and stay healthy everybody.
[...]