On the evening of 3/16/20, the American Dental Association (ADA) released an official statement for dental professionals across the United States to utilize during the COVID-19 outbreak. In this statement, the ADA recommends that all dental offices postpone elective dental treatment, concentrating on emergent treatment only. The hope is that this action will significantly cut down on the number of possible exposures to the coronavirus and limit spread throughout our communities. The Iowa Dental Association (IDA) released a statement that they were in support of the ADA’s recommendation for dentists to close their offices and only provide emergent care during this period.

 

Iowa River Dentistry has always made patient safety a top priority, and in the light of recent current events, there has been no change in this mindset. There is still much to learn about COVID-19, but what we do know is that it can spread rapidly from person to person through aerosol and close personal contact, both of which are part of a dentist’s daily routine. This makes our profession a high risk environment for potential community spread, despite best efforts to screen patients and even with the utilization of universal precautions for sterilization and infection control. To protect our staff, our patients, and our community members, we have made the decision to close our office for the next three weeks, following the direct recommendation from both the ADA and IDA. Emergency appointments will still be available on a case by case basis.

 

This decision was not made lightly. We love our jobs, we love our patients, and we love the communities we serve. Believe us when we say we do not want to take a month long vacation from seeing your smiles in our office. Some may think that closing down our daily operations is overkill, but I would much rather look back on this experience and say “I’m glad we did” instead of “I wish we would have.”

 

I want to thank you all for your support during this period of uncertainty and change. Remember, this is only temporary. We’ll get through this - we’re in it together.

 

- Dr. Bryn

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DIRECTIONS FOR EMERGENT DENTAL CARE DURING CLOSURE:

What constitutes emergent dental care?

• a broken or fractured tooth

• pain that keeps you up at night or prevents you from sleeping or performing your daily activities

• facial swelling

• a knocked out tooth



If you think you are experiencing an emergent situation, please call or text 641-640-1696 and leave a detailed message with your name, number, and what the problem is. Dr. Bryn will reach out to you as soon as possible to help determine if you need to be seen.