Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 1

herself to pick up a prescription for a patient who was stuck in self-isolation. She likes to think about the human impact of COVID in terms of a bell curve — a probability distribution with standard deviations and outliers. “Some people have hardly been affected at all,” she says, “while others are suffering intolerable anguish from the loss of a loved one.” There’s a similar effect on the economy. Job losses and hardships for some but not for others. Patients who have had their entire livelihoods wiped out with no idea when they will recover, while others have hardly been affected at all. Likewise, with the emotional toll. Some patients arrive to their appointments wracked with anxiety while others look forward to their dental appointments as much-needed social interactions. associations are working more closely than ever with Public Health departments, and PPE measures are better than ever. She also agrees that dentistry will benefit from the technological innovations that have arisen from the pandemic, though she cautions that much research and literature will be required to validate long term change. Before we sign off she returns to that glass of water and the question that hangs over it. Half empty or half full? “I hate that question!” she says. “I got asked it on a first date once and it kind of annoyed me.” She laughs, but there’s a point. “I hate that question because it seems to be designed to put a label on someone or something. It’s much more complex than that. And that’s what COVID is. It’s complex. The factors at play, the effects it will have. It’s really important that we don’t stick to labels or choose sides. I just hope that everyone looks at what’s in the glass.” We finish our conversation and I gaze at the half‑drunk cup of tea on my desk, and I know that whatever Dr. Simoens chooses to do with the water in her glass, she will continue to have a positive impact on her patients and the dental profession for a long time to come. “You get a wide variety of perspectives, and all I can do is try to be a source of strength and stability to my staff and patients, try to maintain as much resilience as I can muster, and be a listening ear or share a few laughs,” says Dr. Simoens. Then there is the impact on the dental profession itself. Here, Dr. Simoens quickly circles back to the assurance that we are all in this together. She’s talking about community, something to which she is no stranger. As a member of the Manitoba Prosthodontic Study Club, Winnipeg Progressive Dental Study Club, occasional lecturer for the Student Mentorship Program, and co-chair of the General Practice Study Club, Dr. Simoens knows a thing or two about the power of community. She knows that a sense of shared experience is a major uptick in these pandemic times, especially in her home province of Manitoba where around 300 dentists have banded together in chat groups to connect, share information, create resources and even place bulk orders for essential PPE. “This will only make us stronger for the future,” she says. Speaking of the future, Dr. Simoens acknowledges that the uncertainty has not gone away. But she quickly tempers this by pointing out that the pandemic will not last forever. Again, she looks to the positives: dental offices are open, dental You get a wide variety of perspectives, and all I can do is try to be a source of strength and stability to my staff and patients, try to maintain as much resilience as I can muster, and be a listening ear or share a few laughs. The original version of this article, written by Gabriel Fulcher, appeared on CDA Oasis: bit.ly/36DDQ01 I ssues and P eople