It is with a heavy heart that I announce McAdams Dental has closed for normal operations. As of March 19, 2020, we will be closed through the end of April. At this time we are planning on getting back to normal as of May 1, 2020. During this time, we are available on a limited basis to help with true emergencies. If you really need us, call the office at (480) 991-4727 to get the emergency contact number. We are also working to contact any patient with an appointment scheduled this month to confirm and discuss how to reschedule.
We have every intention of staying informed of the latest recommendations and maintain our already high standards for cleanliness and sterilization in our practice. You can be assured that when we return, our office will follow all of the most current recommendations to keep our patients and our team members healthy!
Until then I will be staying in, studying up and dreaming about the day I get to see all of your smiling faces again. Please respect the gravity of this situation and do your best to stay safe. We can all compare notes about how we spent our isolation time when we meet again. I will be curious about how many of you watch the Tiger King on Netflix...and I hope you are able to find adequate supplies of paper products!
Sincerely,
Don McAdams, DDS
If you are interested, here is a summary of how we got here:
On March 16, 2020 - the American Dental Association recommended that dentists postpone any elective treatment for a 3 week period. This decision was meant to limit the spread of Covid-19 to dental professionals. At this time, there were just under 3,500 confirmed cases in the United States.
https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/2020-archives/ada-calls-upon-dentists-to-postpone-elective-procedures
On March 18, 2020 - the American Dental Association published guidelines related to what types of treatment should be considered elective vs. emergency and advised dentists to only treat emergency issues for the 3 week period. This was intended to help keep otherwise healthy patients away from hospitals while the emergency care was focused on Covid-19 response. At this time, there were just over 7,000 confirmed cases in the United States.
https://www.ada.org/publications/ada-news/2020/march/ada-develops-guidance-on-dental-emergency-nonemergency-care
On March 19, 2020 - McAdams Dental began seeing only essential treatment and all elective procedures were postponed pending further guidance. At this time there were over 15,000 confirmed cases in the United States.
On March 21, 2020 - the State of Arizona issued executive order 2020-10 which mandated stopping all non-elective dental treatment indefinitely with a promise to reevaluate the decision every 2 weeks. This order was intended to preserve supply of masks and gloves for front line health care workers due to a nationwide shortage. At this time, there were over 24,500 confirmed cases in the United States.
https://azgovernor.gov/executive-orders
On April 1, 2020 - the State of Arizona issued executive order 2020-18 instructing all Arizona residents to “stay in place” to limit the spread of the virus in our state. At this time, there were over 186,000 cases in the United States
https://azgovernor.gov/executive-orders