We hope you and your family are in good health. Our intention is for the information on this page to keep you well informed and reassure you of changes that we have instigated.
Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, our practice has been following guidelines from the government and all the relevant healthcare bodies regarding management of our patients at the practice.
When you book an appointment or attend the practice, you will observe many things have changed, however, one thing has remained the same, our commitment to your dental health and personal safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for us which I hope you have seen during your visits to our practice. Our infection control processes are of a gold standard, so that when you receive care, it is both safe and comfortable. We have enhanced these measures even further to meet and go beyond new regulations and guidelines following the Covid pandemic.
You will, therefore, notice a number of changes when you have your next appointment. These will include:
BEFORE ATTENDING THE PRACTICE
Before your appointment you will contacted by one of our team and will be asked to complete a short questionnaire regarding your overall general health. This is to ensure that you don’t have symptoms of Covid-19 when you come to the practice. You will be asked these questions again when you arrive at the practice.
Before your appointment, you will receive an email with instructions to update a medical history form and fill other relevant forms required before your dental treatment. We ask you to do this, to reduce contact within the practice.
We recommend that patients in the high-risk groups for developing complications from coronavirus delay non-essential dental treatment for as long as possible until the trend of the pandemic becomes clear. If you are in a high risk group and do require treatment we will schedule your appointment at the beginning of the day. To find out whether you are in a high risk group please see the link here.
ATTENDING THE PRACTICE
You will be asked to thoroughly brush your teeth before arrival to the practice. We also recommend that you go to the toilet at home before attending the practice, as our toilet will not be available to the public for safety reasons to help reduce contact and so limit the spread of the virus.
On arrival at the practice, our doors are now open for you to enter and check in at the reception desk.
Appointments will be managed to allow us to maintain social distancing standards throughout the practice. If possible, we would ask that only the patient enters the practice unless the patient is a child, who may attend with a parent/guardian. In order to reduce cross contamination, please reduce the personal items brought into the clinic for examples jackets, bags, shopping etc.
ENTERING THE PRACTICE
You should bring with you a facial covering that you should wear whilst in the practice. Upon entering the practice, please use the automatic hand sanitiser available.
Upon entering the reception you will be shown to the surgery room. Passing through you will notice some changes such as the hygiene barrier placed at the reception desk to ensure safety for both patients and staff.
ENTERING THE SURGERY
You are likely to see your dentist/hygienist and nursing staff wearing additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We may also use FFP3 masks that filter 99% of airborne particles in both directions (patient to clinician and clinician to patient).
For some treatments, we will open the windows for airflow reasons.
We will be using special equipment to decontaminate the surgery between each patient to ensure a safe virus-free environment. All communal areas of the practice will be decontaminated regularly during the day.
LEAVING THE SURGERY
If you require an additional appointment, this may be made in the surgery to avoid interaction with reception staff and or other patients.
Upon exiting the reception, we ask that you use the hand sanitiser provided.
We will constantly monitor best practice and will continue to adapt our processes if we learn of further ways to ensure your safety and comfort during your dental care journey. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the practice on 01908 282428
Again, we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience during these unprecedented times and we very much look forward to seeing you soon.