Volcanic Ash

Even dentistry is being affected by the volcanic ash from the eruption underneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland.

My first thought was that apart from a few patients stuck abroad we would be relatively unaffected, as none of our staff have been overseas. Yesterday we had two things that made me think differently. A supplier has told us that an item we ordered is not available as it has to come from overseas, thankfully it's not urgent and we can use something alternative. Then Invisalign emailed us, they ship their aligners from the USA by air, so anyone waiting for new aligners will have to wait a little longer.

I guess the longer the air disruption goes on (and though there is a re-opening of air-space today the disruption could last a long time, especially if the volcano continues to erupt) the more things will be affected. A lot of dental and orthodontic supplies are manufactured in America. Its too easy to take things for granted without really thinking about how things get here.