13/05/2020
We are pleased to announce that Ballybrack Dental will be re-opening for routine dental appointments from Monday, May 18th. We have taken measures to ensure that the practice is a safe place to be for our staff and patients, and would greatly appreciate your help in ensuring that it remains this way.
Along with our usual exemplary standard of cross-infection control that has been carried out in the practice since Day One, we have introduced several other measures to ensure the practice is a safe place to be.
1. There are hand sanitisers available for patient use as you enter the practice and in each surgery.
2. We have redesigned our waiting room to ensure adequate social distance is maintained between patients.
3. We have clear protocols in place for our staff to follow to ensure that everyone is operating safely and working hard to prevent any potential spread of infection.
4. We are triaging patients over the phone to ensure any patients who have experienced any recent symptoms related to Covid-19 don't attend with us for a period of at least 2 weeks.
5. We are limiting the number of people in the practice at any time to ensure we can maintain adequate social distance.
6. We are disinfecting all surfaces, including credit card machines, door handles, and seating after each patient has left the building.
7. We have sourced personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff use, which will also help to protect our patients from potential Covid-19 exposure.
8. We have sourced a state-of-the-art air purifying system, which has been proven to kill greater than 99.97% of the H3N2 Influenza virus within one hour. It can filter air particles as small as 14 nanometres (0.0146µm) in size. The novel coronavirus is ten times larger than this so will be effectively filtered out of the air by this device. This system will be in place before the end of May 2020.
9. We are getting our patients to rinse with a disinfectant mouthwash before treatment commences, and using a protective rubber-dam covering over the teeth where possible during aerosol-generating procedures.
10. We are asking our patients to attend their appointment alone where possible, and to try to arrive on time (but not too early) for their appointment to avoid overlap with other patients. We have extended our appointment times to minimise the risk of overlap of appointments. There will only be one dentist and one surgery operating at any time for the foreseeable future.
11. We are asking patients to pay using credit card whenever possible.
12. Unfortunately, dental hygiene (scale & polish) will not be offered at the current time. We are hoping to offer this service again from June 2020.
13. Urgent treatment will continue to be prioritised over routine dentistry at the current time. We are asking vulnerable patients (e.g. immunocompromised or elderly patients) to avoid attending for treatment unless it is urgent.
Thank you all for your patience and continued custom, and we look forward to welcoming you all back to the practice in the near future.We hope that you continue to stay safe and well and we will hopefully make it through this difficult time soon.
Donal, Paul, Emma E, Kate, Chloe, Noelle and Emma H
Ballybrack Dental :)
