2020 has been a doozie so far, hasn’t it? And as the nation continues the process of recovery from all that has been dealt out so far this year, the American Dental Association is making plans to give one of its highest humanitarian awards next year.

Nominations for the 2021 ADA Humanitarian Award can be made through Sept. 15, 2020. This year’s focus will be on domestic service and will come with $10,000 to be given to the dental charity or project of the recipient’s choice. For 2021, the ADA Board of Trustees is modifying the award just a little to highlight volunteer participation in care programs within the U.S., with the change prioritizing sustainable dental health programs that benefit communities stateside, not anywhere in the world.

The ADA Humanitarian Award traditionally has recognized member dentists who have dedicated a minimum of 10 years to improving the oral health of underserved populations both stateside and/or overseas. This honor goes to someone who has contributed to alleviating human suffering and has exhibited notable leadership in the field of dentistry.

“The Humanitarian Award is one of the highest honors the Association bestows on an individual,” said Dr. Richard A. Stevenson, chair of the ADA Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention. “Every year, the recipient’s actions continue to inspire the rest of us to fulfill the most meaningful aspirations of the profession by helping those who need care when so often it can be hard to be found.”

Criteria for Award Nomination

Dr. Stevenson looks forward to learning about all the dentists across the country who are making a difference every day. “Volunteerism often brings out the best of all of us,” he said.

Criteria for the 2021 ADA Humanitarian Award include:

• Demonstrate significant leadership and outstanding humanitarian volunteer accomplishments that bring honor to the profession of dentistry
• Contribution to alleviating human suffering and improving the quality of life and oral health of individuals in the U.S.
• Exhibit a commitment to humanity and selflessness without regard to direct personal or organizational gain or profit
• Serve as an inspiration to the dental profession, colleagues and patients
• Establish a legacy and/or sustainable program that has ongoing value and benefit to others

How to Nominate Someone for the ADA Humanitarian Award

Anyone may nominate any active, life or retired ADA member in good standing by submitting a nomination for consideration. The nomination does not have to come from a dental professional. Even patients can nominate someone! Any nominations received after the Sept. 15 deadline will be placed on file for consideration the following year.

To help assist and guide dentists across the nation who are reopening their practices as state mandates are lifted, the ADA issued an updated statement and interim guidance April 18 on the specific personal protective equipment recommended in order to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as guidance on ways to minimize the risk of virus transmission.

The ADA is regularly communicating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other relevant organizations to advocate that dentists should be prioritized for PPE as essential healthcare workers.

Beginning on March 16, the governing organization asked dentists nationwide to postpone non-urgent dental procedures through the end of April in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The recommendation was also made to conserve essential PPE for medical frontline colleagues and first responders. These measures would also keep those patients away from overburdened hospital emergency departments. In other words, emergency dental cases could still be seen in dental practices.

According to the April 18 statement, “The ADA recognizes that local or state government decisions regarding closures, including restrictions regarding elective health care, supersede ADA recommendations. In addition, local and state health departments, state dental societies and, in some cases, large urban local dental societies may better understand local disease transmission rates and conditions and make more informed recommendations regarding elective dental care availability.”

In his daily press conference, President Donald Trump recently indicated that many states will be able to reopen by May 1. On April 16, he shared federal guidelines for loosening some restrictions. State and local governments in some states are now considering reopening certain businesses considered “essential,” which include dental practices, as they slow-roll their communities back into normal operations.

The ADA statement sums it up this way: “The longer dental practices remain closed to preventive care and treatment for early forms of dental disease, the more likely that patients’ untreated disease will progress, increasing the complexity and cost for treatment down the road. The safety of patients, dentists and dental team members has been and always will be ADA’s utmost concern.”

With its recently formed ADA Recovery Task Force, the ADA is adding additional resources regularly. You can find all ADA guidance at ADA.org/virus.

Coronavirus, now named COVID-19, is making headlines around the world. From statistics about the rapidly spreading illness to tips for travelers, this hot issue is at the top of most news reports. The American Dental Association has now released an informational handout for dentists.

The informational handout, which can be downloaded here, covers strategies for helping prevent the transmission of suspected respiratory disease in the dental healthcare setting and also answers frequently asked questions related to the virus, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronavirus Basics

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in animals and people, causing the common cold, and sometimes, more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS.

To date, the coronavirus has led to tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illness in China, and infections have been reported in many other countries as well, although the vast majority of them have been associated with travel from Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected.

Due to the growing number of cases and reach of the disease, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” on Jan. 30. The next day, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary classified it as a U.S. public health emergency.

But it is important to note that the immediate health risk from the coronavirus to the general American public is considered low at this time, according to the CDC.

What Dentists Need to Know

The precautions are not so different than flu season preventative measures. To help prevent the transmission of any kind of respiratory infection, dental practices should adhere to standard respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette infection control measures, such as adhering to excellent hand hygiene, providing tissues and no-touch receptacles to throw away used tissues and offering face masks to patients who are coughing. Practices also should follow routine cleaning and disinfection strategies used during flu season.

If any member of your clinical team is assessing a patient with a flu-like or other respiratory illness, they should wear a disposable surgical face mask, nonsterile gloves, gown and eye protection to prevent possible exposure.

Note: Because recommendations for COVID-19 could change as more information becomes available about the disease, the ADA suggests checking for updates on the CDC’s coronavirus infection control page for health care professionals.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recently installed its 156th president. The position was awarded to Dr. Chad P. Gehani of Queens, New York. Dr. Gehani and the new and returning officers were installed in their offices before proceedings of the ADA House of Delegates at the ADA FDI World Dental Congress in San Francisco. The meeting was the 160th annual meeting of the ADA.

During his first address to the House of Delegates, Dr. Gehani told members it is his “responsibility to ensure that the ADA remains the guardian of your lifetime commitment to the profession — and I am not just talking about your dues dollars. The ADA must be a responsible custodian of your time as volunteers and of your talents as clinicians, researchers and educators. The ADA must be relevant to all of us,” he concluded.

Get to Know Dr. Gehani

Dr. Gehani received his dental degree from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. He is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which recognizes Americans who dedicate their lives to the community and is bestowed by the Ellis Island Honor Society.

When 24-year-old Dr. Chad P. Gehani arrived at the airport in Mumbai, India, in 1975, he had never even seen an airplane before, let alone flown on one. Dr. Gehani held a one-way ticket to New York City. He had a dental degree from the Government Dental College and Hospital Mumbai, but no guarantee of any job in the United States — especially one in dentistry — and was leaving behind all his family and friends.

Within days of arriving on American soil, Dr. Gehani found a job on Fifth Avenue and 28th Street as a janitor. He was paid $3.75 an hour to unload trucks and clean the streets, warehouse and toilets.

Three months later, Dr. Gehani secured a job in a hospital working as a dental assistant and began taking the national board of dental examinations, which started him down the path that would allow him to be recognized as a dentist in the United States.

Nine months later, he was allowed to begin practicing dentistry. Dr. Gehani joined the American Dental Association in 1977, and five years after he arrived in New York, he became an American citizen.

Watch for a full account of Dr. Gehani’s House of Delegates address on ADA.org and in the ADA News.

Are you a recently graduated dental professional looking for the perfect place to start your career? Or an experienced dentist looking to make a move to another practice? Your job search may have just gotten a whole lot easier.

Dental professionals looking for the right job could always turn to the American Dental Association’s CareerCenter, the ADA’s official online job board. But on July 17, the ADA CareerCenter debuted its upgraded website, which now offers even more tools to improve the user experience and personalization of job searches.

The online job board features a new personalization dashboard, which provides a more user-friendly experience for job seekers in the dental profession and generates more relevant responses for employers and dental professionals seeking team members, according to ADA CareerCenter.

New features include:

• employer custom content
• company profiles and branding with the ability to use video and images
• searchable tags
• employer resume access
• premium job postings
• job of the week
• employer profile page
• targeting job campaigns
• social push (which makes it easier to share a job via social media)

In addition to the new dashboard, the job alerts feature can be customized in several ways: by keyword, location, specialty, career level, salary, hours, contract type, and recruiter type. Dentists and other dental professionals can also choose how often they receive the alert (daily or weekly).

For employers looking for dentists and other dental professionals, they have access to a unique page that allows them to share details about their practice and explain why a dental professional should choose them over somewhere else. Employers can add pictures, videos and links to educate jobseekers.

For more information on the ADA CareerCenter, visit careercenter.ada.org.