There are very few businesses that haven’t been altered or damaged by the pandemic of 2020.

Most of us are experiencing losses well beyond any hope of being made whole through any stimulus plan created by hierarchy that sits on the throne and hands down cash to those they deem fit and fit into their personal best interests.

We could whine about the devastation that has been done to the newspaper industry, but we already know the powers that be on the national or state level have no concern whether local news will remain after this ordeal.

And yes, some people prefer to get their world and national news from unknown and unverified sources on the internet, but guess where they borrow and steal the little bit of local news they do from.

Yes, the local newspaper in the community.

There is no such thing as a Google or Facebook reporter. ESPN doesn’t send anyone to cover the Golden Tornado sports teams or the high school bands. But that’s OK apparently with our elected officials.

But let’s talk about something or someone everybody should have and that is a dentist.

During the pandemic, dental offices have been shut down to only dealing with emergencies. We have no idea whether Gov. Wolf and his sidekick Dr. Levine have real parameters for what a dental emergency might be.

Is placing a crown that was ordered before this all started an emergency or should the patient suffer and the tooth continue to deteriorate until Wolf gets done playing Red-Light, Green Light- 1,2,3?

In recent years much has been written and discussed about the connection between good dental health and the condition of the heart. That is just another area being trampled on by the dynamic duo as they smash their wave of destruction through the Pennsylvania economy.

Most people agree that dentists were way ahead of the curve — Levine loves to talk about the curve — before others. Our dentists have been putting gloves into our mouths for years and wearing face protection as well.

Dental offices may have some of the strongest and long-running best practices for germ prevention in any field.

They also have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars frequently to stay up with the latest and best equipment available for the industry. Do you want your dentist using old equipment or technology?

So why is dentistry so slow to be released from the tyranny of the state?

Did Wolf have a bad experience as a child and is finally getting even?

According the latest information available to us; there has NOT been even one reported case of COVID-19 being connected to a dentist’s office anywhere in the world.

There have been connections in government staff buildings all the way up to the White House, but they could all still be working if they didn’t value their Memorial Day picnic more than the needs of their victims; sorry, we mean their constituents.

Again, government isn’t letting facts get in the way of the decisions it chooses to make.

Is a bailout in order? Will thousands of dental offices close due to irresponsible actions of the state government?

We can only wait and see, but as each day goes by and the governor promises the grass will be greener on the other side of his color-coded game show, we see irreparable harm being done to another industry without any justifiable reasoning.

— RV