ADA News

Dr. Graham

Teaneck, N.J.—When the Bergen County Dental Society executive committee convened Aug. 30, four of eight attendees reported practice interference visited by Hurricane Irene, three without power and his water-logged, said Dr. Frank Graham. “I happen to be on the highest ground in town but the water level was so high that mine was flooded.”

Foundation grants available for victims of disaster In the wake of Hurricane Irene, the ADA Foundation reminds dentists and organizations of its Disaster Assistance Grant Program. The program was designed to provide assistance to those members of the dental profession who have lost property in a declared disaster and to support provision of emergency dental care in areas affected by disasters. The ADA Foundation provides disaster grants in the following areas: dentists who have been affected by disasters to assist with immediate needs; organizations that provide dental services to affected areas. To fill out a grant application, visit www.ada.org/sections/about/pdfs/disaster_application.pdf. For more information about the ADA Foundation, visit www.adafoundation.org. A list of ADA disaster recovery resources is also posted on ADA.org here: www.ada.org/disasterrecovery.aspx.

The East Coast was cleaning up after Hurricane Irene raked the eastern seaboard hard on the heels of a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the mid-Atlantic region. The American Dental Association’s East Coast employees reported to work Aug. 29 in sunshine and calm after a weekend of wind and rain. Business continued without interruption at the ADA Washington Office and the ADA Foundation Paffenbarger Research Center in Gaithersburg, Md., each with some 20 employees.

One ADAF-PRC experiment, a study of the causes of secondary caries with a pump system that mimics the mouth, was disrupted without negative effect when Irene knocked out power at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where ADA scientists conduct dental materials research. “I’ve heard of no damage. It’s just a different Monday morning,” said Clifton Carey, Ph.D., ADAF-PRC director of independent research and grants administrator. “The message here is that we were prepared.”

As for the experiment, “We lost no data,” and the study resumed with the restoration of power.

ADA members affected by Hurricane Irene can find a list of resources on ADA.org’s Disaster Recovery page.