Knock on Wood
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?
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 employee’s and patient’s temperatures upon arrival to the office, medical grade air purifiers in the treatment rooms, the closure of our waiting rooms and having patients wait in their vehicles, the wearing of lab jackets by all employees, etc. How long will these added precautions be necessary remains to be seen, but some will likely never go away. COVID-19 affects Smile Montana everyday, but we are just happy to be able to see and treat our patients again after being closed for close to 7 weeks.
John Lennon once sang the words, “Life is what happens when we are busy making other plans.” Boy ain’t that the truth. Every last one of us had some incredible plans but then life came along and cancelled pretty darn near all of them. It’s easy to get frustrated and to feel like our liberties are being attacked. I can empathize with that sentiment, but I’m also happy to do everything in my power to help prevent the spread of this virus even if those actions simply put those around me at ease.
Take time everyday to look for the silver linings in all of this. Hopefully this slow down has given us a better perspective on life. Be friends with your neighbors, don’t let the channel you get your news from tell you who is good or who is bad...this is America where we are free to believe what we want to believe and we celebrate our differences and diversities.
I’ll check in with y’all in another couple months and I’m sure I’ll find you no worse for wear. Until then Keep Smiling Montana, and next time let’s Knock on Wood.
Read Knock on Wood by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS in 406 Woman magazine.