Update 18th May

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Unfortunately there is no further (concrete) information to offer our patients.  All practices are still required to remain closed temporarily, as per the department of health and the chief dental officer.  

Emergency dental centres are up and running and, we are informed, are working reasonably well to provide very limited services. 

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We are reaching that point where as a profession we anticipate returning to work to provide a service, but there isn't much information available to enable us to do so at present.

We have been preparing however, for what will likely be a gradual introduction of appointments.  We've been in to make sure everything still works!  And we're running through some preliminary procedures for seeing a limited number of patients each day.  Our PPE will be somewhat different to what you're used to seeing us in, with different masks, visors, aprons etc. and will no doubt be a source of much amusement (certainly no more than my current hairstyle), but we will hopefully have more information about this soon (PPE and hair). 

Initially we'll need to prioritise those patients who have already contacted us with longstanding issues for the first week or so of re-opening our doors.  We can then address how we are able to facilitate treating ongoing emergencies and concerns, things that aren't as urgent from a pain point of view, but are important to you. 

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We're still not sure how many patients we'll be able to see per day - but almost certainly not the same number as before. 

At this time we are unsure how long this will last last for but it will be dictated by the perceived risk to both our patients and our staff. 

 

It does feel as though we're being kept in the dark by our regulatory bodies and that dentistry has been forgotten about during this period.  Hopefully it will return to the forefront as it is a vital aspect of healthcare.  We're particularly concerned that we haven't been able to monitor and look at any of our patients for the last 8 weeks and in fact by the time we get back that number may be much more - and that's a great concern for us all here.  It's most important that we are granted permission to return to work as soon as is feasible, at least to assess and plan for our patients.

 

On opening there will no doubt be a “new normal” although what this means exactly remains to be defined. At present we do not know what criteria we must follow in order to provide services, and where the continued risk of CV will be within the population as a whole. 

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We do know that there will be some strict operating procedures and we are confident it will be a safe environment to ensure risks are minimised.  Rest assured everything we do will be for your (and our) protection whilst we go through this interim phase.

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As always, thank you for your messages of support.  We have been thinking about you all at this time and it has been a worry that we've not been able to care for you in the way we normally have.  These recent weeks have caused us all to reevaluate and for us, will no doubt lead to a new era in the provision of dental services.  Certainly moving forwards we will continue to look after you and if anything, improve our services further to ensure we make things better and easier for you. 

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We will be making contact and updating our website and facebook with information as and when we have it. 

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'Stay alert'  

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Wasif

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