Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 3

In February, CDA established a COVID-19 Response Team that brought together the CDA leadership and senior staff along with the executive directors of Corporate Member PDAs. Dr. Aaron Burry, CDA’s associate director, professional affairs, and a dental public health specialist, leads the response team. Some topics that the response team are working to address are: • the definition of emergency dental treatment; • the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE); CDA at Work During thePandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented change to Canadian dentistry. At CDA, we know that dentists are struggling with new challenges as clinicians, business owners and individuals. Our Boards of Directors, Corporate Member provincial and territorial dental associations (PDAs) and CDA staff have focused our efforts on helping dentists navigate these challenges and advocating for them at a national level. We have also mobilized to serve as a clearinghouse of information for the PDAs in a rapidly evolving global situation. • teledentistry; • infection control; • pharmaceutical protocols; • business interruptions/recovery. Each week, CDA convenes a meeting with the Corporate Member PDA presidents and CEOs to update them on COVID-19 Response Team activities. CDA also produces a ‘COVID-19 Email Update’ on a weekly basis, compiling updates on CDA activities along with any relevant developments that occurred that week. This email is sent to representatives of theCorporateMember PDAs, who can choose to distribute pertinent details from this update to its members, as they deem appropriate. COVID-19 Response Team CDA is a federation of Corporate Member PDAs; we deliver our services, programs and information to individual dentists through the PDAs. Together, we are working to address scientific, clinical, economic and business-related matters impacting dentistry, including efforts to increase awareness about the mental health and wellness of dentists, their families and dental office employees during these challenging times. 8 | 2020 | Issue 3