Procuring personal protective equipment is still a volatile and uncertain process for Rhode Island dental practices, according to The Providence Journal.
John Kiang, DMD, the Rhode Island Dental Association's vice president, told The Providence Journal that the Rhode Island Department of Health has supplied dental practices with almost 4,000 face shields, 25,000 N95 masks, more than 1,200 cases of hand sanitizers and hundreds of gowns. However, some dentists seem to be constantly worried that their scarce PPE stockpiles will soon run out as inventories remain inconsistent.
"I have spoken with a few dental distributors and they are still having a challenging time keeping up with demand for certain items," Dr. Kiang told The Providence Journal. "From what I understand, inventory changes daily.”
Dr. Kiang went on to say high-barrier masks are in critically short supply, along with disinfectant wipes and spray. He also noted that PPE prices have shot up exponentially, as boxes of masks that used to cost $10-20 now cost $40-50.
"There have been challenges in the PPE market since the beginning," Joseph Wendelken, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Health, told The Providence Journal. "A specific challenge for dentists is that much of their work is aerosolizing, so they need medical-grade PPE. One example is an N95 with a fluid shield. The market has opened for some types of PPE, which is good, but there are still supply issues sometimes."
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