ADA extends elective dental treatment postponement date
ADA recommends emergency & urgent dental care only til April 30th, at the earliest
by KEVIN KUO, DDS, MMSc | April 1, 2020
In an update to their March 16th announcement, the American Dental Association has recommended for dental offices to postpone elective dental treatments, while still providing emergency and urgent care. The ADA releases:
The current American Dental Association (ADA) recommendation for dentists to keep their offices closed to all but emergency care expires on April 6. The new interim recommendation from the ADA is that dentists keep their offices closed to all but urgent and emergency procedures until April 30 at the earliest.
The ADA also notes that specific states dental organizations or governments may have more specific recommends that supersede the ADA’s:
The ADA also recognizes that existing and future local or state government mandates supersede ADA recommendations. In addition, state dental associations may best understand local challenges being faced and make recommendations appropriate to members in their areas.
Author Commentary: This statement is expected from the ADA given statements by the federal government and expert epidemiologists. President Trump extended the United States’ social distancing guidelines to April 30th. The next two weeks is expected to be the worst as far as a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
