Dentistry post COVID: Defining the “new normal”

For some the last few weeks have been a bit of a blur; for some an interminable drag. For all a rapid (and sometimes unwelcome) adjustment to a new way of life. In more stable times we had the cliché that life is a journey (rather than a destination). Maybe now, many of us would like to know with a bit more surety quite where we are heading.

Misinformation spreads like a virus

In the pre-surge period, hospitals such as my own, had a paucity of data with which to plan their contingencies. There was no time for controls, randomisation, double-blinding, peer-review and all the other features that Good Science requires. Clearly, now we have our own data evolving in real-time, we can look more sceptically on the numbers generated early in the global pandemic.

Dealing with uncertainty

So where does this leave us? We have left the land of risk adversity shrouded in blame culture and unwillingly set course for uncharted waters. If our nautical heritage is a precedent – the fear was then keenly felt by a few brave sailors, now it is widely disseminated to us all.

Everyone’s an expert

So, in a Brave New World of widespread disinformation, there is endless opportunity to upgrade personal opinion to that of an expert. In fact, the real experts are more often heard to say “well actually, we don’t really know”. So how do we proceed? Should we be paralysed by inactivity? Passive aggressive until the genuine solution emerges? We could be waiting an awfully long time.

What next?

Undoubtedly we are in for the long-haul. “Marathon not a sprint” etc etc. We need to be bold. We need to take individual responsibility for where our personal balance of risk versus benefit lies. We should listen to guidelines, accept their limitations, take the initiative.

The greatest challenge will be implementing sensible strategies for infection control in the dental practice. We will be here to help you with that.