YOUR NEW DENTAL APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE
Here at Shotley Bridge Dental Care, we would like to thank you for your patience during what has been a testing time for everyone. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back as safely and as quickly as possible.
You may have heard that dental practices can open to routine care from Monday 8th June. We are planning to open as soon as possible but want to be clear that initially, it will not be business as usual. The treatments you are offered may be different from those you received before, depending on staff and equipment available. It will take some time before services return to what you previously experienced as normal.
We want to inform you about the changes we are making due to Coronavirus so we can focus on your safety and that of our colleagues and clinicians. Our practice follows infection control guidelines made by the governing bodies. We are up to date on the new guidance that has been issued and we have made sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to recommendations.
As safety is our priority, if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 / Coronavirus please do not attend your appointment, let us know as soon as possible and follow the government guidance on self -isolation. If we feel that you are at risk of having possibly been infected, even if you are asymptomatic (don’t have any symptoms), we will respectfully request you to delay booking any appointments with us for at least 14 days.
Initially, there will be a phased return and we will be getting in touch with patients who have experienced a dental problem during lockdown who are on our priority list. Patients can only be seen by appointment in order that we can maintain social distancing requirements within the practice. We will also be creating clinics for patients who are most vulnerable to help minimise patient contact with others whilst they are in the practice.
Please be aware that we no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you are offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
If you have any questions regarding this new practice procedure, please do not hesitate to contact us.
BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
Once you have been identified as needing an appointment, our practice will call you to make your appointment. We will also ask you some screening questions over the phone and you may be asked to make a payment. You will be asked these questions again at your appointment.
Before face to face contact, a dentist will call to have a telephone consultation with you, to complete a medical history and to assess your problem in order to plan treatment. We can also then give you an idea of cost. If there is a cost to your treatment, we endeavour to take payment remotely where possible and so you may be asked to pay in advance over the phone.
ON THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT
Before you leave home we ask that where possible you have already visited the lavatory, ensure that you are hydrated as there will be no drinking facilities and have already brushed your teeth. Please only bring necessary items with you and no large bags. We do ask that you please bring your own pen.
Please travel alone where possible unless you require assistance or are supporting a child or someone vulnerable. We would be grateful if you could try to arrive no more than five minutes before your scheduled appointment. If you are travelling by car, please wait in your car in the car park and call the practice on 01207 502621 to confirm your arrival and give us your car registration details for a permit. If you are travelling on foot, please call the practice on arrival and await instructions. If you do not have a mobile phone, please let us know and we will make alternative arrangements for you.
ENTERING THE BUILDING
A member of our team will notify you by telephone as to when you can enter the building. The door will be locked, and we will meet all patients on arrival. Patients will enter the foyer and have their temperature taken. If your temperature is above the recommended guidance, you will be unable to enter the practice and will be asked to return home and self-isolate as per current government guidelines. If your temperature is normal, you will be asked to put any coats or belongings into a plastic box provided. Patients will then be asked to use their own pen to sign any forms required. Patients will then clean their hands using alcohol rub and apply the surgical mask provided and take the mini plastic bag. Our member of staff will then escort you straight into the surgery. Please maintain social distancing when the foyer door is opened for you. The internal doors will already be open for you so that you do not have to touch door handles.
If payment has not been made in advance, payments for treatment in the practice should be made using a debit or credit card to allow a contactless transaction. Our receptionist will be behind a plastic screen for the safety of everyone and the card machine will be disinfected.
TREATMENT You will be escorted into the appropriate treatment room and asked to take a seat, remove your mask and pop it into the plastic bag provided.
Our clinical team will be using extra personal protective equipment in line with current recommendations. Whilst our PPE (personal protective equipment) may make us appear impersonal and distant, please be assured we are still the same friendly team underneath it all! The higher level of PPE is required because the clinicians within the surgery cannot adhere to social distancing.
Be assured that every treatment room is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, before and after each visit.
Some treatment, such as those with the ultrasonic scaler or the high-speed drill, create aerosols – tiny droplets of water, that could potentially spread the virus. For this reason, the way we provide some treatment may be altered or postponed to minimise risks to you and the team. For certain treatments, once you sit down, you may be asked to swill your mouth with a mouth rinse for one minute. In addition, your treatment may be carried out under a rubber dam which is a piece of equipment that isolates the tooth we are working on.
AFTER TREATMENT You will be asked to re apply your mask and will be met by a member of staff outside the surgery door. You will be asked to use the hand sanitiser and will be escorted to the foyer where you can collect your belongings and exit the building.
If you have any questions after your appointment and have left the surgery, please call us to discuss. For safety reasons our aim is to minimise the amount of time, you spend in the practice.
OUT OF HOURS Out of hours, our usual emergency service will be running. Please contact the surgery on 01207 502621 and listen to the answerphone message for further details.
Thank you all for your patience and continued support and we look forward to seeing you.
Stay safe,
From all the team at Shotley Bridge Dental Care
