Week in Review: How COVID-19 has impacted our industry | Thoughts on pain management | Unique idea for dental implants

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Where were you when the dental industry stopped turning this week?

OK, maybe it didn't come to a complete halt, but much of our industry and how it does business have changed and slowed in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on our society. With the ADA's recommendation that dental practices postpone elective procedures and several states enforcing that recommendation, dentistry in the U.S. morphed this past week.

Our editorial team did its best to keep up with the ever-changing dental landscape earlier this week, and we think you'll find this timeline of just how and when things changed in our industry interesting. You may also find interesting some of the links we've provided within the article to news stories regarding the pandemic and its effects you might not have heard about in those fast-moving few days.

Dr. David Rice, our clinical editor, was one of the first in the industry to share his thoughts on what dental practices should be doing after the ADA recommendations came down on Tuesday. His video message was included within one of the most-read articles of the week.

What about the business side of your practice during this time? Dr. Roger P. Levin had some excellent advice to share with dentists and dental team members in the dental practice management emergency preparedness plan he authored exclusively for DrBicuspid.com readers.

Of course, other things were happening in our industry outside of the coronavirus outbreak. We have been asking our authors to give some concrete thoughts to our readers about how to be even more successful once our businesses return to normal. Among them was Dr. Teresa Yang's idea on how to improve the dental implant replacement process for everyone involved.

Finally, Tom Viola, RPh, dove into the science of why a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen is effective for dental pain management. In the article, he also discussed what you and your team members need to know about this combination and its effect on your patients.

We continue to wish you and your loved ones health, wellness, and safety during these historic times.