A win for ADA with new masks sourced
(from ADA website: 8 March 2020)
With thousands of Australian dental practices facing imminent closure and the dental health of Australians in jeopardy, the Australian Dental Association (ADA) applauds the Federal Government for sourcing a new supply of masks.
Today (Sunday 8th March) the Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the dental and medical professions would together receive 54 million masks.
This is a combination of surgical masks, P2 and N95 respirators which will form part of the National Medical Stockpile for use by medical, dental and aged care professionals. It is not yet known how many of these will go to dentists.
“This is great news for the dental profession,” said ADA President Dr Carmelo Bonanno.
“Since the coronavirus reduced the number of surgical masks coming into Australia, the ADA has been working hard behind the scenes and constantly talking to the Minister and Chief Medical Officer to get help in finding new mask suppliers.
“This week we finally went public and went to the media on a very difficult situation – if new supply sources weren’t found, many dental practices would be forced to shut their doors within the next four weeks.
“This is because dentists and their assistants both need to wear a new mask for every patient, with the nation’s 7,500 practices using around 9.5 million masks a month.
“Masks are an essential component of infection control and without these, dentists would be closing their doors in every state and territory very soon.
National Cabinet approves the move to Level 1 restrictions
8 May 2020
Today (May 8), National Cabinet approved a move to Level 1 restrictions for dentistry.
The decision is the product of ongoing advocacy by the ADA and a close collaborative working relationship with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) the aim of which was to get the profession back to work quickly and safely.
While the move represents d a significant step toward normality, it does not yet mean dentistry is back to business as usual.
Level 1 means that dental professionals must continue to screen patients and only treat those who do not meet the epidemiological and clinical risk factors for COVID-19. It is critical that the profession remains vigilant in its application of Level 1 restrictions and ensure the safety of dental teams and patients alike.