Priory Dental Care
How we’ve all be affected by COVID-19
Over the last few months, we’ve all been affected in some way by COVID-19 (Coronavirus). From the UK being in ‘lockdown’, social distancing and becoming accustomed to a different way of life, it’s been a difficult and challenging time for us all.
We understand you may have some questions about how has COVID-19 impacted dental care, so we’ve put together the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions, relevant to both existing and new patients who may be looking for help.
Why were dental practices closed during the COVID-19 lockdown?
Although we couldn’t see you for face-to-face appointments, our team were here all the way through lockdown, providing an emergency telephone triage service, so that you could access prescriptions, dental advice or a referral to an Emergency Dental Care hub, if needed.
Dental teams are ranked the highest ‘at risk profession’ for contracting COVID-19 (Coronavirus), due to the close face-to-face contact with patients, and working in the mouth where infectious Coronavirus pathogens may be present. Therefore, the Government enforced the closure of all general dental practices for face-to-face care, to eliminate the risk of direct infection to dental teams.
In addition, due to global shortages, the Government wanted to divert vital Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to front line staff in critical healthcare services, such as hospitals and intensive care units, so that it could be used to save lives.
If performing dentistry is considered ‘high risk’ is it safe to see patients again?
As always, the safety of our patients and staff is our priority. We want to stress that Priory Dental Care is a safe place to be. We have always had strict decontamination and infection control policies, and have further increased levels of infection control and PPE to the highest standard in light of the current situation. There have been some changes to keep you safe and safely distanced from other patients, which we will tell you about before your appointment.
Dental practices were allowed to reopen on 8th June 2020, so why didn’t you open on that date?
Unfortunately, we found out that we could reopen for face-to-face appointments at the same time it was announced to the general public. Following on from this announcement, the Government issued guidelines which all dental practices in the UK must adhere to in order to operate safely. These guidelines (a 62 page document) weren’t published until late on Thursday 4th June. This gave us very little time to implement all the additional safety measures, and obtain the enhanced PPE. PPE of all levels was (and, at times, still is) very difficult to source due to global demands creating a world-wide shortage.
A survey carried out by the BDA (British Dental Association) found that only 36% of dental practices in England were able to reopen on 8th June. And of those who had managed to open, only 11% were able to offer a full range of treatments.
We were finally able to reopen on 17th June 2020, which was only a delay of working 8 days. In comparison, many dental practices remained closed well into July and even August.
Why did it take you so long to get the PPE?
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government issued new guidelines which all dental practices in the UK must adhere to in order to operate safely. These guidelines include instructions to use a higher level of PPE, known as ‘enhanced PPE’. Due to the global demand, PPE was becoming increasingly difficult to source even before the UK went into lockdown. During lockdown, many dental practices were asked to donate their PPE to help protect NHS front line staff. This meant, once the dental industry was given the ‘green light’ to reopen, there was a sharp increase in demand of PPE from dental practices, which the suppliers couldn’t meet. In addition to this, some suppliers were prioritising NHS dental practices over Private practices, such as ours, which made it more difficult for us to obtain the required PPE.
Part of the new PPE requirements are fitted face masks, known as FFP3 or FFP2. These proved to be the most difficult to obtain. There are a lot of counterfeit face masks in circulation, so we had to ensure what we were buying came from a reputable source, in order to keep everyone safe.
Once we had secured the fitted face masks, we had to have them professionally face-fitted and tested to each individual member of the clinical team. As all dental practices were in the same position, the demand for qualified ‘Fit Testers’ went ‘through the roof’, and there were waiting times of up to 6 weeks for this service. Without all the enhanced PPE, we couldn’t even pick up the drill.
Why do I have to pay a surcharge for my treatment?
The cost of PPE has increased significantly in comparison to pre-COVID times. In fact, in some cases, it has risen by up to 100 times more! In addition, the new Government guidelines state that the clinical team have to wear enhanced PPE to minimise the risk of cross-contamination during certain treatments, called AGPs (Aerosol Generating Procedures). AGPs are any treatment that requires drilling or generates aerosol inside the mouth, for example, fillings, crowns, ultrasonic scaling.
As well as the enhanced PPE, once an AGP has been carried out, we then have to leave the treatment room empty for up to an hour, to allow the aerosols to settle, before we can deep clean the room.
The only way we can continue to operate is by temporarily introducing an enhanced PPE Surcharge of £36 for all AGP appointments. 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.
I’m on Denplan. Why was I still paying when you were closed?
Even when we couldn’t see you for face-to-face treatment, we were still here providing an emergency triage service so you could access prescriptions, advice and the Emergency Dental Care hubs if you needed them. If had you had pain, a broken tooth or dental trauma during lockdown, it would’ve been fully covered under your Denplan contract, and you would’ve had priority booking once we reopened.
Your plan spreads the cost of your dental care across the whole year. So no matter when you have your appointment, you know that your payments have already covered it, including restorative work like fillings and root canal treatments. We have also waived any PPE surcharges for all our Denplan patients.
Why didn’t you have a contingency plan for this situation?
We have many contingency plans in place, such as for fire and flood. However, a global pandemic, such as COVID-19, is both rare and unpredictable and therefore very difficult to plan for. Our closure was enforced by the Government, and therefore out of our control. And, with a worldwide shortage of PPE, it would have been unethical for us to attempt to ‘stock pile’ these vital items during lockdown, when critical healthcare services, such as hospitals and intensive care units, needed these to help save lives.