Covid-19 Practice Policy
Updated: 15th June 2022
The whole team at Brixham Dental Practice are continually working hard to ensure that your visit
to the dental practice will be a pleasant, effective, and most importantly a safe experience.
Following the withdrawal of Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance last week, new
guidance has been published.
New arrangements remove certain obligations like physical distancing, but do not represent a
return to 'business as usual' in dentistry. Practices will still have to comply with much of
recent guidance, including maintaining screening, triaging and separate pathways and approaches
for patients with symptoms of respiratory infection.
New guidance understandably places an emphasis on ensuring practices have adequate ventilation
and the need for adequate PPE is underlined.
Patients
- Patients are asked not to attend the setting if they have symptoms of respiratory infection
- People accompanying patients are asked not to attend the setting if they have symptoms of
respiratory infection.
This will be monitored by our professional dental team who are trained and competent in carrying
out a C19 assessment prior to your appointment, usually the day before where we will either call
or text to check that you have no symptoms.
Upon arrival
- Our doors are now unlocked, and you may enter through the front door or the rear, situated
by the car park.
- Before entering the building, you must wear a mask of your own or a mask supplied by us,
these are situated by the front and back entrance.
- Please then disinfect your hands using the hand sanitiser.
- You are then welcomed to check in at reception (where screening is still in place) and take
a seat in our wating room.
- You will be happy to know we are now allowed to offer newspapers and magazines in our
waiting room again for you to read at your leisure.
- You will then be invited into the surgery for your appointment, where the team will be in
their standard Infection Control prevention protection equipment to carry out the
appointment.
- After your appointment you will then be taken to reception to arrange your next appointment
and any payment needed can be made here.
- There is no additional charge of £20 for any extra PPE worn now.
Thank you for being so understanding and patient during these difficult times whilst we all learn
to live with COVID-19.
Updated: 14th July 2021
The whole team at Brixham Dental Practice are working hard to ensure that your visit to the
dental practice will be a pleasant, effective, and most importantly a safe experience. Many of
the procedures and protocols that were routinely part of safe delivery of dental care are
already well developed and practiced at Brixham Dental Practice.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have upgraded many of these routines to ensure that we are
offering you the latest in safe dental environments. The risk of virus particle contamination is
managed carefully in all areas of the building and clinical room.
We are keen to prepare our practice prior to your visit as much as possible in order to limit the
time you spend in the practice and to allow us to manage your dental problem efficiently and
effectively while you are with us. We will endeavour to manage as much pre-visit admin and
consultation with you over the phone and by email to streamline your actual onsite visit.
As per the Chief Dental Officer’s recommendations, the sequencing and scheduling of patients for
treatment as services resume will take into account:
- The urgency of needs;
- The particular needs of vulnerable people;
- Available capacity to undertake activity.
Rest assured, we have not forgotten about you but we have to work through the list of patients as
above.
Please look at the following Brixham Dental Practice guidance that will help us look after you
during your visit.
- If you are unwell for any reason it is better for you not to come into the Dental Practice.
If you suspect you have symptoms of COVID-19 please stay at home and follow NHS guidance;
- We are not able to allow last minute teeth cleaning at the practice during this pandemic to
avoid cross contamination; please prepare yourself at home to have freshly cleaned teeth
using your routine oral hygiene measures.
- We will call you prior to the day of your appointment to ask some Covid-19 questions and to
check there have been no changes to your medical history.
- All patients will be seen by appointment only;
- All payments can be taken at the reception desk, after your appointment, please remember to
bring your credit/debit card.
- Our usual sitting room has been redesigned to be kept as clear as possible and guarantee
social distancing.
- Please do not arrive more than 5 minutes early to your appointment unless you have been
requested to do so.
- Please attend your appointment via the back entrance in our car park, where a tea member
will collect you.
- Please do not bring anyone with you into the building unless this person is accompanying a
vulnerable adult, a disabled person or children. Please plan to keep siblings and other
family and friends out of the building;
- Please try to arrive cool and calm. Please don’t run or race your bike to your appointment
as your body temperature will be raised and you might appear feverish;
- Upon arrival, a team member will unlock the door and use an infra-red thermometer to measure
your body temperature. If you are feverish we will ask you follow NHS self-isolation
guidance and to rebook your appointment for at least two weeks’ time;
- As you are invited into the building we will ask you to disinfect your hands using the hand
sanitiser and offer you a face mask that simply hooks over your ears and covers your mouth
and nose and to place some gloves on. Our reception team are there to help you and will now
be wearing a mask and behind a screen to protect their working environment;
- We would like to request you to ideally use the toilet facilities prior to your visit to the
surgery as we ought to keep you in the premises for as little time as possible after your
treatment session;
- Our team will be wearing various levels of PPE but we are all likely to, at least be wearing
a mask, visor, apron and some gloves as we greet you;
- We will allocate a seat for you in one of our waiting areas and you will be requested to
remain in that place until you are called into the surgery in order to maintain social
distancing. Be aware, spaces in our waiting areas are limited;
- We will then invite you into one of our surgeries which would have been thoroughly
disinfected and sterilised to guarantee the safest clinical environment. For treatments
involving aerosols (many dental treatments), your dentist and dental nurse will be wearing
some extra layers of PPE, don’t be frightened.
- You will be requested to place your personal belongings and coats in a box in order to
minimise contamination of your clothing and other belongings with aerosol. If you are having
an aerosol treatment you may be required to wear a hair net.
- At the end of your procedure you can have the usual mouthwash rinse but please try to avoid
splatter. You will then be requested to put your facemask back on before leaving the room;
- We are currently making further appointments in the surgery at the moment to minimise time
spent in the reception area; if you do not have your diary you can call our receptionist
when you get home to arrange this.
- A team member will then collect you from the surgery where they will take you to the front
door and ask you to remove your gloves and mask and escort you out the front door;
- All your treatments will be planned carefully and will be managed in a calm and extra safe
environment. Due to the extra expense related to PPE a temporary surcharge of £20 will apply
to all aerosol generating procedures;
At Brixham Dental Practice we are determined that your experiences under our care continue to be
effective, reassuring and safe as possible.
Thank you very much for your cooperation during these difficult times.