Our main delay has been sourcing the enhanced PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), as advised by our governing bodies. As you may be aware there is a current shortage in PPE supplies and we are using every avenue available to us to source sufficient good quality masks, gowns and visors. The masks have to be specifically fitted to each member of the clinical team by a specially trained fitter to ensure no aerosols can enter. Without doing all of this we cannot even pick up a dental drill!

PPE Surcharges
Unfortunately due to the nature of this virus, we are forced to temporarily introduce a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Surcharge. This will be priced at £36 for all Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGP) such as fillings, crowns and any procedure that requires drilling or generates aerosol inside the mouth. This surcharge will continue to run until the Government and our dental authorities can allow us to terminate the use of enhanced PPE within the dental setting. For our Denplan patients, the cost of all this additional PPE will be waived as a thank you gesture for supporting us through this crisis.

As well as the advanced PPE, we have been implementing some additional safety measures and changes to the practice layout. We are leaving suitable gaps between appointments to maintain a safe distance between patients, and to allow time for any aerosols to settle before we deep clean.

We are starting to reopen at a very basic level, with the most urgent cases first, although we are still very limited as to what we can do. Please be advised that, for now and the foreseeable future, patients can only attend the practice once they have been telephone triaged, assessed and allocated an arrival time.

We will be continuing with our telephone advice service Monday’s to Thursday’s 9am-4pm and Friday’s 9am-3pm. Please call during these hours if you need have a dental problem or need oral health advice. For dental emergencies only during weekends and bank holidays, please telephone the practice on 01366 386666 and you will hear an answerphone message, giving you the contact number of the duty dentist on-call.

Thank you once again for being so patient, and we will continue to keep you updated.
#StaySafe #StayWell #COVID19 #Coronavirus #Dental