Preparing to re-open for you

As you may be aware dental practices were advised to stop any face-to-face contact during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown period in order to restrict the spread of coronavirus. Although we have been able to provide remote assistance for patients, we are aware that this has been a challenging time for those who have encountered dental pain or problems and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding during this time.

The good news is that the government have now said that dental practices may re-open from 8 June 2020 “where practices assess that they have the necessary infection prevention control (IPC) and personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements in place”. Whilst we are very much looking forward to being able to resume ‘normal’ services, our priority is to ensure that we are able to provide a safe environment for our patients and staff. Therefore, we hope you will understand that we will be taking a phased approach in returning to ‘business as usual’ in order to ensure we can meet the government’s requirements around social distancing and safe working practices. Things may be a little different for a while and you should be prepared for pre-visit phone/video consultations to minimise the time spent in the practice and a limit on what treatment we can provide to begin with. Our priority will be to see those patients who have been waiting with urgent care needs.

We will keep you updated when we have more information and will continue to try and obtain the necessary PPE to enable us to reopen. In the meantime, you may call the practice on weekdays  between 9am and 11am to speak to Claire, our practice manager, regarding any concerns or questions you may have. Outside of these hours your dentist remains on call for advice and pain management.

Please bear with us as we find our way around the new ‘normal’ for managing our appointment books and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

Lastly a little reminder of a few things that will make the coming weeks kinder on your teeth and gums:

• Make sure you brush twice a day with a toothpaste containing fluoride. Ensure you don’t rinse out the toothpaste after brushing as it has much more of a beneficial effect if it is left on the teeth
• Clean in between your teeth EVERY day with either floss, TePes or other cleaning aids that you have been shown by your dentist or hygienist
• Reduce sugar intake in food or drink to just 4 times a day. Your teeth should be able to cope with that. Any more frequent and your risk of developing tooth decay increases dramatically. If you allow tooth decay to develop, it can lead to problems including toothache! The effect of any sugary food and drink on your teeth lasts for up to an hour so be careful and look out for hidden sugars
• Bleeding from your mouth when you brush your teeth is usually because your gums are inflamed – you need to try and determine where the bleeding is coming from and clean more in that area not less.

We hope that you find these tips helpful. Let’s hope that you don’t need to use any of them. If you do, don’t forget that we are on the other end of the phone to give you further advice on 01293 782772 where you will be directed to your dentist for a telephone consultation.