“We probably go through 900 gloves a week, 20 to 30 gowns a day and hundreds of masks a week,” Dr. Zalay said.
When they shut down amid the first COVID-19 wave, University Associates in Dentistry donated all their supplies to hospitals. When they reopened two months later, they struggled to obtain PPE.
“Items that we used to pay $1 for was now $6, so costs have gone up by [500] percent,” Dr. Zalay said. “And we’re seeing less patients.”
“Our usual dental suppliers are out of stock or the units are unusually high,” the dentist explained. “The gowns we couldn’t get in June — now it’s the gloves we can’t get in November. The field hospitals should be getting what they need, but that causes problems for smaller operations like us.”
Fortunately, Dr. Zalay found Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based MRI, a company that sells wholesale PPE to small businesses.
“It allows people to buy PPE at the lowest price they can get it without being price-gouged for their offices,” Dr. Zalay concluded. “I’m so grateful for them.”
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