08/06/2020
Dear Patient
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health.
You may have heard that dental practices can open to routine care from Monday 8 June.
Our nurses and dentists have been working hard against a very difficult back drop trying to get the surgery ready to start seeing patients again. The current position has been made very difficult by many circumstances beyond our control.
We have actually been open all of this time and we never actually closed or stopped helping patients. This has included those that have never seen us before as well as our regular patients. The only thing that has been different is the way that we work and operate. The surgery takes the safety of its staff very seriously and this will always be a priority for us.
We will be taking very cautious and small steps going forward. These steps will be based on the progression of Covid-19 virus, our understanding of how the virus is spread, advice as it is shared with us and on the availability of PPE.
We will be doing a slow and risk assessed phased return to seeing patients. At this time, we are still not able to see any patients for routine examinations. We will not be able to carry out any aerosol producing procedures. This includes treatments that would involve the use of a drill or scaler.
Regrettably we are still not in a position to continue any treatments started before the covid -19 pandemic which involves drilling. Our dentists will be reviewing these cases over the next weeks.
We will continue to help and support the Urgent Dental Clinics (UDCs) and NHS 111 by continuing to give out phone advice, suggesting analgesics and antibiotics where appropriate.
Our plan is to assist the UDCs further by opening up a very limited and select number of appointments for those needing the simplest of emergency treatments that will not require any tooth preparation. This could include a simple temporary filling or a very low risk extraction. This will help reduce the wait time for those that require an appointment with the UDCs for other emergency treatments.
We will only be seeing those patients that have been triaged and assessed by one of our dentists. Being seen does not guarantee your problem will be solved on the day as it can be difficult to gauge a problem until it is physically seen.
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer a walk-in service at this time. We ask that you do not come to the surgery to try and book an appointment as our doors remain locked.
The current situation is a national crisis, and we understand that this can and will be a frustrating time for many. We respectfully ask that none of these frustrations be taken out against our staff. The surgery in line with other NHS care providers has a zero-aggression tolerance policy. Please respect our staff and the fact that they are doing one of the highest risk jobs at this time.
We are working hard to try and help as many patients as we can. Please feel free to telephone us if you need further advice. Thank you.
Stay safe and well.
Perry Vale Dental