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by Dr. John F. Miller
Do you all remember February? Like before we knew words and phrases like social distancing, wet markets, flatten the curve, shelter in place, second wave, N95, etc. You know, back when life was just normal...not “new normal.” Back when you could hug folks and sneeze in public without getting the side eye. Back when Big Mountain was spinning chairs, when professional athletes were competing...in front of real humans, when kids were in school, when we could go out to the movies, and when Canadians could still kick it in the Flathead (aka Montanada). Those were the good ole days, weren’t they?
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I had an awesome February. I met up with some of my siblings and other childhood friends in Northern Arizona for a backpacking trip into Havasupai near the Grand Canyon. If you are unfamiliar with this place a simple google query will inform you of its intense beauty. We spent a few days in the canyon exploring and swimming in the turquoise spring-fed waterfalls. One evening around the fire I casually mentioned, “this virus thing over in China is a little crazy right?” I should've knocked on wood. Fast forward 6 months and we are 5 months into this COVID-19 pandemic. The vibrations and ripples of this global shutdown will be felt for years to come. Life and routines have altered and changed and will continue to modify as we tackle this thing. Some of these changes will never return to the way they were before...for better and for worse. Hopefully it has awakened in all of us a realization of what’s important in life.
Things have changed in my little dental sphere as well. When all health care professionals are trained at their respective institutions, they are taught to adhere to universal precautions. What this means is that, from an infection control standpoint, we prepare and treat each patient as if they have a dangerous and contagious disease. Now, these standards have been modified at different points in history to address new and changing health risks. Specifically following the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980’s and definitely right now with the added protective measures we are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our dental office. So, our definition of “Universal Precautions” has been updated to contain the protective measures required to treat a patient with COVID-19. Some of these updates include more specific medical history questions, recording the employ-