Reopening FAQ's

As our practices begin to reopen. We have put together some answers to frequently asked questions regarding your appointments and PPE.

When can I see the Hygienist?

We are intending for our dental hygienists to return in July. In the meantime, your Dentist may be able carry out your hygiene session for you at the same time as your dental health examination.

Will my hygiene visit be different?

Your Hygienist / Dentist will be able to remove any plaque and tartar with hand instruments, rather than using the electric scaler. This will be done carefully and thoroughly. The Hygienist / Dentist will also be able to give you tips and hints for how to reduce your plaque levels at home. You will be given a small pot of polishing paste so that you can remove any stubborn stains at home afterwards.

Why does it have to be different?

We are avoiding carrying out treatments which create a spray. These sprays or aerosols can carry and spread the virus. Therefore, we are avoiding using an electric scaler as this would be a high-risk procedure. Removing the plaque and tartar with handscalers will be the norm while the Covid risk levels are high, so that we can ensure that we keep you safe.

Why are you still cancelling appointments?

Currently we need to prioritise patients with urgent care. We can gradually move to other essential care.  We have also increased our hours of opening and changed our working patterns so that we can see as many patients as possible. To enable us to do this we need to free up the appointment books. Please bear with us, if you have had your appointment cancelled, we will be in touch as soon as we can to get you booked in and seen again.

What classes as urgent care?

Emergency or urgent care are the most extreme cases, but are covered by the following:

• Severe continuous bleeding
• Swelling which is restricting your airway
• Uncontrollable pain
• Severe trauma
• We have introduced virtual consultations to enable us to see more patients, more quickly, in the safest possible way. Discussions will be completely secure and will be as if you are in practice with the clinician, without the need to leave your home.
• We are working through our lists of patients with urgent needs and prioritising the ones who were in the middle of treatment or had problems while we were closed. Please rest assured that we are working extra hours to clear the backlog and will be able to offer you a routine appointment before too long.

If you are not sure if you need is urgent or essential then please do contact our reception teams to discuss – our dentists are available to carry out a video consultation if necessary – we will be glad to help.

Why do I need a virtual consultation?

We have introduced virtual consultations to enable us to see more patients, more quickly, in the safest possible way. Discussions will be completely secure and will be as if you are in practice with the clinician, without the need to leave your home.

When can I book in for a routine appointment?

 We are working through our lists of patients with urgent needs and prioritising the ones who were in the middle of treatment or had problems while we were closed. Please rest assured that we are working extra hours to clear the backlog and will be able to offer you a routine appointment before too long.

Why do you need PPE; you always wear PPE?

Standards of infection control are extremely high in a dental practice normally; it is probably one of the safest environments that you could be in. We have always worked in a precautious way to protect from infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis V. At the present time because coronavirus spreads so easily, we are taking extra precautions to ensure that everyone is safe, including you and the team. It is likely that once transmission rates reduce, we will be able to relax the measures that we have in place, but for now we just need to ensure that everyone is as safe as we possibly can be.