We're allowed to see our patients again... Welcome back :)
Thank you
I want to thank all our patients for their understanding and patience in this tough time of extended practice closure. Your support and concern for the the practice and the team are the “why” to why we do what we do.
Intro.
As you may be aware, The Chief Dental Officer of England instructed all dental practices in the UK to close in late March to reduce the risk of spreading the Coronavirus. Today, the Prime Minister announced that dental practices can now re-open from the 8th June.
Now, we have been working on our return to work almost from the first day of our closure because we knew that our operating procedures would need to be modified upon our return. Our approach to tackling returning to work has been developed from multiple sources: both the Medical and Dental Professions. Below, I will share some of the significant developments here at Dove Holistic Dental Centre, which will help to keep you safe.
As the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic is still being evaluated, our policies and procedures are likely to change in line with new scientific evidence over time.
Timetable
It is our intention for team members to return to work next week. We will spend the time preparing the practice for reopening and practising updated procedures before our patients return.
The clean environment at Dove Holistic Dental Centre
Our standard infection prevention protocols at the practice against all previously known pathogens are woven into our daily clinical activity. Dental practices are already very clean environments compared to public areas, and so you are much safer here than many other establishments such as shops, supermarkets, schools etc.
What are we doing right now at Dove Holistic Dental Centre?
Although the practice is closed, we have been working hard to plan for our return. We are advantaged as we are part of a group of highly pro-active dental practices that have been working together to study all aspects of the Coronavirus and how best to help keep you and our teams safe. Currently, with insufficient support or guidance from our governing bodies, we took it upon ourselves to research and comprehend information about the many challenges posed by treating patients during this Covid-19 crisis. We opted to create a "gold standard" of precautionary procedures and protocols, ensuring we are all as safe as possible in every situation. Our robust standards will possibly go far and above any recommendations likely to be put in place by NHS authorities.
Before you visit us
We will give you a courtesy telephone call to check for any issues surrounding your general health as well of course as asking about any signs and symptoms of coughs, colds and other signs of respiratory infections. We will also ask questions about the wellbeing of anyone in your close family circle. Your appointments will be confirmed or scheduled via the telephone call. To help maintain social distancing, we will ask you to try and attend unaccompanied for your appointment and not to attend early. This will prevent the build-up of significant numbers of people together in our waiting area. These measures are highly recommended and are based on the proven best practice safe steps taken in Denmark, Germany, Spain and many other countries.
We would recommend that patients in the high-risk category delay non-essential dental treatment for as long as possible until the trend of pandemic becomes clear. The following link will give you further information:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus
We will notify you if we feel that your treatment should be delayed. If, however, you need care that can't wait, we will schedule your appointment for the beginning of the morning sessions.
When you arrive
We will greet you and check that your temperature is normal. If your temperature is above the normal limit of 37.8C, we will advise you to rebook your treatment and follow the government guidelines for self-isolation. We will limit the number of patients waiting, and you may notice our appointment times are a little different; this is so we can stagger the arrival of our patients to help maintain social distancing as far as reasonably practicable.
We will ask you to either use our alcohol-based disinfectant hand rub or wear disposable gloves. If you have to wait in the patient lounge, we will ask you to wear a surgical mask. For those who prefer to remain in their cars, please let us know you've arrived, and you can wait in your car outside the practice, and we will call you in as soon as your appointment is ready to start.
The steps we must take to prepare ourselves and the practice
In an unprecedented endeavour, we have taken many additional steps to protect the safety of you, our patients, and us as a team including:
Surfaces
All surfaces including handles, push plates, communal surfaces etc. will be disinfected and wiped down three times in the day – before work, at lunchtime and after work. We will use a special product that is proven to be 80 times more effective than bleach, and yet is not toxic to humans and animals. We will also use this product to spray into the air.
PPE
We will be using lots of extra layers to protect you and our team including respirator masks, surgical gowns, hats, eye protection and visors for specific procedures: we're sorry, but we will sometimes look like we are in a hospital setting. Suppliers in the UK are overwhelmed with orders, and Public Health England has restrictions on who can access stock. Still, we place orders several weeks ago and are hopeful that it will arrive before 8th June.
New air purification and disinfection units
Initially, we were concerned that the Coronavirus could spread easily in the dental environment through the air in the form of dental aerosols. There is now a lot more evidence that infers the actual risk of it spreading through this manner is quite low. Nonetheless, we have invested in air purification units to help mitigate that risk further. These units filter the air of microorganism as well as harmful chemicals. Additionally, they use other technologies (UV-C light and plasma ioniser) to kill any residual organisms to help to keep the air clean and healthy for you and the team while you are in the treatment rooms and reception areas.
Patient management
Patients at high risk – we are aware that some of our patients higher-risk patients who if succumb to Covid-19 are at an increased risk of getting a more severe disease, e.g. the elderly and people with certain health problems. We will discuss this with you when we book your appointments any special requirements you may have, and I emphasise your wellbeing is our number one priority. If needed, we will spend more time to ensure that those most in need are not put at added risk, and we will try and accommodate you.
Clinical
Dental dam and other devices: We may use a sheet of material to isolate a tooth or teeth before we commence some treatments. Additionally, using suction, we will keep you safe and comfortable as required while completing your treatment.
Extra time
We will be providing an additional buffer between patients to allow extra time for decontamination procedures for certain treatments to allow for any treatment overruns and allow preparation time for next patient so that they do not need to wait in the reception area. We need to allow sufficient time for the air purifiers also to do their work and so we may need to reschedule your appointments to fit in this buffer period.
Sorry…
All team members will be upgrading their personal protective equipment in line with current recommendations and evidence including FFP2 and FFP3 masks, visors and protective clothing as appropriate. We apologise in advance for any perceived reduction in social interaction that this may convey. While our ensemble may make us appear impersonal and distant, please be assured we are still the same friendly team underneath it all!
The financial aspect of Covid-19
Despite the huge economic impact of Coronavirus upon the practice and the increasing financial burden of sourcing PPE, we will not be increasing our normal fees for the foreseeable future unless absolutely necessary.
We will now start calling patients who we had to cancel. We know that we will be swamped, but if you have particularly urgent needs, please do let us know, and we will make every effort to help. As a team, we have decided to offer some extended opening hours if needed, and of course, we will prioritise urgent treatments. If you have an emergency, or we may have inadvertently forgotten about you, please call us on 01243 820424, and we will be sure to help you.
In the meantime, contact us on the telephone number above. Your call will be transferred to one of the clinicians. These are unusual and tough times for all of us; thank you for your patience.
So, hopefully you can see, we are taking every conceivable step we can to take care of your wellbeing. Be assured that we will treat you with our customary good humour and of course kindness and respect. We love helping our patients, and we will do everything we can to continue delivering a service that makes us proud of who we are and where we work.
Best wishes and please keep safe…. oh sorry…alert….
Davinder and the Team at Dove Holistic