Daily life for everyone around the world has changed dramatically in a short space of time. As things begin to normalise it is important that we reflect and adapt to ensure that we take control and change the things we know will keep us safe.
We are steadily returning to a new normal and we are able to start seeing our patients again for their routine check-up and hygiene appointments.
To be fair to all our patients, our priority will be those who had their appointments cancelled during the Covid Shutdown period and we will begin making contact with everyone over the next few months.
As i am sure you appreciate, this may take a little time so please bear with us.
As always, we thank you all for your patience during this time and our reception team are on hand to answer any further questions you may have
Stay safe – Torrington Dental Practice
Routine dentistry during COVID-19 requires the correct social distancing measures and personal protective equipment to be in place.
In the first national lockdown, dental practices closed (or as good as) for around 12 weeks. However, since then, practices have largely remained open.
Dentists and their teams have trained in oral health care but also infection prevention and control too. Dental practices are well-versed in providing safe care and having practised cross-infection control for many years, using personal protective equipment.
The experience of going to a dentist might be different now, but they remain safe places to be.
Many practices are still catching up from when they were closed during the first national lockdown and those delivering NHS care in particular may have a backlog.
For these practices, their priorities are likely to be:
The reason for the long waits is not just because of the backlog, but also because there’s a lot more disinfection of surgeries required after each treatment. Sometimes, they have to wait anything up to an hour before
they can have another patient in the chair.
Some patients might find that a treatment is available quicker privately than it is on the NHS. As with medical care, this is often because the queue for NHS treatment is longer. It may simply be that there are many
more people looking for NHS appointments than private appointments. Many practices will provide a mix of NHS and private care. But those practices will have a limit to the amount of NHS care they are able to provide. The BDA believes that the current NHS contracts
do not work well for patients or for dentists and we are discussing with the relevant authorities ways of improving them.
Please make sure you keep your appointment if you have one; it’s going to be safe and it’s important we don’t waste limited resources. If you can’t make an appointment,
your practice may be able to offer it to someone else who really needs it.
If you’re looking for care, you may receive initial remote advice via the phone or video call. This may lead to advice being given or the arrangement of an appointment if the dentist deems it necessary. Some routine
care like a check-up might be delayed, potentially until next year unfortunately.
Please be assured that dentists are working within the current guidelines issued by governments and are doing their best to help patients wherever possible.
Receptionists are also doing their best to ensure that priority cases are treated as soon as possible. Please treat all the staff with respect. We know it can be stressful, but they are doing their best to help.
Please check in with your own practice or if you haven’t regularly sought care:
Practices are using personal protective equipment such as mask, gloves and aprons and social distancing measures to keep staff and patients safe.
It is likely to be some time before dental services can return to what you previously experienced as normal.
However, your dental teams will be doing all they can to ensure you receive the treatment you require in the safest way.
