The next time you visit our Dental Practice you will notice a number of changes have taken place in how we work in line with the Government Guidance to ensure the safety of you and the dental team. As a result of the additional requirements for PPE appointment times and spacing we have adjusted our pricelist and payment policy to reflect these changes. Appointments will now be managed to allow for social distancing, as well as full decontamination cleaning of the practice in between patients. This means that unfortunately we may be able to offer you fewer options for arranging your appointment time. We are allowing longer gaps between patients in order to fully disinfect and decontaminate all areas of the practice. All of our staff have comprehensive training in infection control as well as specific training in the measures needed to protect you during the pandemic. All members of the dental team have their temperature taken daily, follow rigorous hand hygiene and now wear additional protective clothing depending on the treatment required, including filtration masks, visors, aprons and gloves. When booking your appointment, we will ask you some Covid-19 screening questions to assess your health before your appointment. We will again repeat the screening questions over the telephone 24hrs before your appointment. We request you attend the practice alone unless exceptional circumstances (e.g. a parent / carer). We ask that you arrive on time for your appointment, but request that you in your car until you are contacted (by phone) by a member of staff, who will then greet you at the door. At the time of your appointment, we will phone you to enter the practice and you will be met by a member of staff wearing appropriate PPE. Before entering the practice, the staff member will take your temperature (from a social distance). If your temperature is above 37.8 c, treatment will be declined. Upon entering the practice, we ask that you wear a form of face covering and you will be asked to sanitise your hands with the hand sanitiser gel provided. A member of the dental team will escort you directly into the surgery where you will be asked to use antibacterial mouthwash before treatment. During consultation, if it is decided that the proposed treatment requires the use of high-speed / pressure dental equipment, a further / longer appointment will be arranged. This is because standard dental procedures like ultrasonic scaling, tooth preparation, or operating an air-water syringe, all produce aerosols and splatters. Aerosols remain in the atmosphere for long periods after the patient has completed their procedure, increasing the risk to dentists, dental nurses and patients. Once dental treatment is completed the dental nurse will escort you out to reception where you can arrange any further appointments and make payment by card. Before leaving the practice, you will again be asked to sanitise your hands and a staff member will escort you out of the building. Tags
