04 June 2020
POST COVID-19 REOPENING POLICY
This policy has been created based on multiple updated sources from within the dental and medical professions and the government. It outlines modifications to our normal procedures that we intend to employ once the practice can be reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic peak has subsided. It is not known at this time whether these procedures are temporary or whether they
will become a permanent feature of the way dental practices must be run to ensure patient and staff safety in the future. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is still being evaluated and studied and policies and recommendations are likely to change in line with new scientific evidence over time. We would like to thank all of our patients for their patience and forbearance during the
period of temporary practice closure and for their understanding and cooperation whilst we implement new measures at the practice. We will of course be providing dental care to all of our patients in the safest possible environment. We greatly appreciate your assistance with any new or modified procedures at the practice.
PROVISIONAL TIME TABLE
The practice will re-open for patients who require essential emergency dental treatment on Monday 1st June 2020. This will be extended to other patient groups from Monday 8th June 2020 for routine treatment. Please bear with us if you have contacted the practice during lock down we are working our way through emails. Our hygiene treatment is likely to resume the final week of June pending guidance. Due to regulations, this will be hand scaling only and we are unable at present to use an ultrasonic scaler. Studies have shown that hand scalers are as effective as ultrasonic scalers but we are hoping to be back using ultrasonic scalers in the near future.
PATIENT COMMUNICATION
We will be contacting patients and confirming appointments ahead of their scheduled time. We will request that all patients who are attending the practice update their standard medical and dental history forms beforehand. These forms will now be in electronic format and we will no longer be using paper forms. The assessment forms include a new section which will allow us to assess your level of risk for coronavirus infection before you attend the surgery.
NEW MEASURES TO REDUCE THE RISK OF COVID-19 TRANSMISSION
Our normal cross-infection control protocols at the practice against all previously known pathogens are already woven into all clinical activity carried out at the practice. It should be remembered that a dental practice is already a very clean environment compared to public areas and there is no evidence of COVID-19 transmission occurring in increased rates in dentists or their staff.
We have collectively evaluated all of the updated guidance and observed what measures have been put in place in other countries. We feel that the measures which are 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 procedures to reduce the risk of cross infection in both directions.
BEFORE ATTENTING THE PRACTICE
We will carry out a pre-attendance triage over the phone by asking a few set questions. We will also email you a pre appointment pack with any of the necessary information and documents to fill in before your appointment. When confirming your appointment the day before, we will ensure that none of the information you provided has changed and that we have the relevant forms returned for your treatment. If you have any difficulties with completing the forms we can help you with this over the phone. A dentist may also carry out a video consultation with you to assess your dental problem prior to your visit so that a treatment plan and cost estimate can be sent to you. If we feel that you are at risk of having possibly been infected, even if you are asymptomatic, we will respectfully request for you to delay booking any appointments with us for at least 14 days. You may be charged for the appointment if we are unable to fill it at short notice as per our normal terms and conditions. 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.
The practice will be operating contactless payment systems going forward, and we will request that payment is made online or over the phone for your appointment prior to you attending. This reduces the requirement for unnecessary contact or use of pin entries on card terminals at reception. If you need to make payment on reception on the day you will be asked to stand in the designated cross on the floor and provide your consent and card details. When travelling to the practice, we would recommend that you limit close contact with other members of the public as much as possible. We are asking patients to wait in their cars and call reception to inform us you have arrived. We will then ring you back when it’s safe to approach the door. We will meet all patients outside the building and bring them straight into the practice. One adult is able to attend with a child; please do not bring additional family members with you unless they are happy to wait in the car or outside the building
ARRIVING AT THE PRACTICE
When you attend the practice, we will welcome you, and ask for you to hang your coat, jacket and bags in the porch entrance to the practice. The front door will remain locked, however we cannot accept liability for personal items so please limit what you bring into the building. We will take your temperature with a no-touch thermometer. If your temperature is above 37.5°C you will be risked assessed or advised to return home. We intend to eliminate waiting inside the practice and at reception. Accordingly, appointments will be staggered so that patients do not arrive or leave at the same time as other patients as far as we are able to manage. We will ask you then to use the hand sanitiser in the reception area following the poster on hand hygiene for 20 seconds.
If you fall in a vulnerable category, we may ask you to also wear a mask. You will then be taken straight to surgery. We may ask you to use a Hydrogen Peroxide mouthwash before some dental treatments are provided Rubber dam or other barrier mechanisms will be used for more procedures than Previously.
PRACTICE PROCEDURES
The team have spent time critically looking at every aspect of the practice with a view to removing all non-essential items that can potentially be the cause of infection. You will find that the practice may appear to be quite bare when you attend. We regret that during this interim period, we will not be providing our normal tea and coffee services and the bathroom will be out of use unless absolutely essential. All clinical and common areas including door handles and surfaces will be regularly disinfected in addition to our normal surface cleaning protocols between patients.
The team will be providing a fallow period between patients to allow additional time for additional decontamination procedures, allow for any treatment overruns and allow preparation time for the next patient so that they do not need to wait in the reception area. All future appointments will be made and confirmed by email or telephone or made from the cross indicated on the floor in the waiting area. This is to limit your time spent at reception.
DENTAL PROCEDURES
All dental staff will be using personal protective equipment in line with current recommendations and evidence. 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! We are especially mindful that many dental treatments are aerosol-generating procedures (AGP’s). It is difficult for us to carry out some dental procedures without generation of some level of aerosol. Aerosol suspended in the air is a theoretical source of infection however this can be reduced by use of our normal high-volume suction. The use of dental rubber dam where possible reduces bio aerosols by a further 30 to 90%
Methods of ventilation such as extraction air conditioning and opening a window will also be used as well as wearing fit testedFFP2 and FFP3 We therefore feel that our normal dental procedures can be carried out with minimal risk by the use of high-volume suction, rubber dam, surgical PPE and FFP2 masks.
SUMMARY
The vast majority of our patients are otherwise healthy without coronavirus infection and we are confident that we are able to provide dental care for these patients in as normal an environment as possible while bearing in mind our responsibilities to mitigate risks of infection spread as far as is practically possible. This policy will be constantly reviewed and updated as necessitated by circumstances over time. If you have any questions regarding this policy or about your dental care at Church Road Dental please do not hesitate to contact us at the practice.
