08/06/2020
As you are probably aware Dental Practices in England re-opened on the 8th June. Unlike Dental Practices in Wales, Dental Practices in England, until now, have been completely closed since lockdown such that they have been unable to see any patients face to face.
The situation in Wales, as dictated by our own Chief Dental Officer has been very different. In Wales we have been open throughout the lockdown period albeit providing a reduced service to our patients. We have been fortunate in Wales that under the Welsh Government’s advice we have been able to continue to see patients for dental emergencies providing invaluable “over the phone” advice, providing DIY temporary filling packs, carrying out simple extractions, placing temporary fillings and prescribing analgesics and antibiotics when necessary.
At present the Welsh Government has informed Dental Practices in Wales that we can start a gradual and limited return to dentistry from the 1st July.
At this stage we will not be able to undertake and dental procedures that require the use of a dental drill and any procedure which creates a flume of debris into the immediate atmosphere, otherwise known as an aerosol. Hence, we will be able to perform simple extractions, place temporary fillings, carry out some denture work and perform other low risk procedures, but the full remit of our modern day dental practice will still not be feasible for a little while still.
We are proud to state that as a profession, for decades, dentistry has lead the way in the health care and surgical world with regard to our sterilization and decontamination procedures. As a whole, the dental profession is currently collating the information available on the infectivity of COVID-19 and deriving a workable model in terms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and putting systems in place that will protect our patients, staff and ourselves. We are currently working extremely hard to put our own individual systems into place to ensure our Practice is compliant with recent protocols and recommendations as it relates specifically to us.
Today we are proud that our staff have undertaken the training required to become fit testers for the new protective respirators which we will be required to wear for certain dental procedures. We are also pleased to have received delivery of our protective reception screens.
Please rest assured that we will ensure that all the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” are crossed in our practice to protect everyone but at the same time allowing us to provide the service you require in as timely a manner as possible.
We have missed all patients during this very difficult time and cannot wait to get back to work to see you all.
In the meantime we will continue to provide clinical care for emergency patients as outlined above. If you have any problems please don’t hesitate to contact us and one of our brilliant team will be happy to help.
