Covid Procedure

In order to maintain social distancing measures, and for the safety of our patients and team, we will be prioritising patient care. We have put together a policy based on advice from dental and medical professionals and the government. The policy aims to outline modifications to our normal operating procedures. At this time, we are unsure whether these procedures are temporary or they will be the new ‘normal.’ However, our priority is to ensure safety for both you and our staff.

The global pandemic is still being evaluated and policies and recommendations may change with new scientific guidance. We will, of course, keep you updated of any changes. We would appreciate your understanding and cooperation whilst we implement these new measures at the practice. We are striving to provide the safest possible dental care to all our patients.

Resuming Patient Dental Care

The practice is open for patients requiring dental care.

How to book an appointment If you are experiencing a dental problem
Please call us on 01926 815 731 and one of the team will be happy to help.

Patient and Team Member Safety

We have collectively evaluated available guidance. We feel that the measures outlined in this policy will reduce risk to the minimum level at the practice.

Please be assured that all of our clinical staff will also be complying with our updated measures to reduce the risk of cross infection in both directions.

Prior to attendance

Prior to your appointment you will be asked some pre-attendance questions. These questions are often sent via our Patient Portal. We advise patients to keep us updated with their email address for this reason.
In the event of suspected infection If we feel that you are at risk of having been infected with Coronavirus, including asymptomatic carriers having had contact with an infected person, we will respectfully request for you to delay booking an appointment with us for at least one month. We will discuss options available for emergency treatments for this group of patients at the time of your phone consultation,

What if I am in a high-risk group?

We recommend that if you are in a high-risk group for developing complications from coronavirus, you delay non-essential dental treatment for as long as possible until the trend of the pandemic becomes clearer. If you are in a high risk group and require urgent treatment we will endeavour to schedule your appointment at the beginning of the day.

Payment methods

We request that all payments are made over the phone prior to you attending your appointment. If this is not possible, please inform our reception staff prior to attendance and we will try to accommodate you with an alternative contactless payment method.

Reducing contact during travel to appointments

When travelling to and from the practice, we request that you limit close contact with other members of the public as far as possible.

What to expect on arrival to your appointment

Please arrive promptly for your appointment. Our entrance will be locked, so please knock no earlier than the time of your appointment (as our reception area will be closed for waiting) and you will be met by a member of our team.

Temperature testing prior to entry

We will take your temperature using a no-touch thermometer. If your temperature is 37.8°C or above, you will be unable to enter the practice and will be kindly asked to return home and follow government guidelines regarding self-isolation and contact tracing.

Hand hygiene

You will be asked to use the sanitiser to disinfect your hands prior to entering the treatment room.

Limiting persons during visits

To maintain social distancing measures within our practice, all adults attending their appointment must arrive alone. We ask that anyone dependent on a carer due to a specific impairment/support contact the practice prior to attending so we can accommodate your visit appropriately. Children attending for a dental appointment may be accompanied by one adult only.

We intend to reduce the number of patients in our practice at any given time and therefore our waiting area will be closed. Accordingly, appointments will be staggered so that patients do not arrive or leave at the same time. Late attendees will therefore not be seen.

What you can bring into the practice

We will ask for you to hang your coat or jacket in the main corridor of the practice. To further reduce the risk of infection, please refrain from attending with additional baggage/pushchairs etc if possible. The front door will remain locked; however we cannot accept liability for personal items, so please limit what you bring into the building.

Use of facilities

Unfortunately the toilet facilities will be unavailable for use.

Maintaining hygiene standards within our practice

All non-essential furniture and items posing potential infection risk have been removed from our practice. You will therefore find that the practice may appear to be quite bare when you attend.

All clinical and common areas including door handles and surfaces will be regularly disinfected in addition to our normal surface cleaning protocols between patients. We will be providing a buffer period between patients to allow time for additional decontamination procedures. All dental staff will be using PPE in line with current recommendations and evidence. Their PPE may reduce sound quality. If you have difficulty hearing instructions or information discussed with the dentist, please let them know during the consultation.

After your consultation has ended

All future appointments may be made and confirmed by email or telephone to limit your time spent in the reception area.

Finally…

We apologise in advance for the necessary reduction in social interaction that this will necessitate. Whilst our masks may make us appear impersonal and distant, please be assured we are still the same friendly team underneath it all!