Essence Dental Clinic Post Covid-19 return to work policy

We would like to thank all our patients for their understanding and patience in this very difficult time of extended practice closure. This policy has been created on latest multiple update sources from both the Medical and Dental Professions. Below is some of the important and updated developments here at Essence dental Clinic. As you know, all dental practices in the UK were instructed to close in late March by the Chief Dental Officer due to the potential risk of Coronavirus infecting the dental team as well as everyone associated with the practice. Our PM Boris Johnson announced yesterday that dental practice may reopen from 8th of June.

Provisional timetable

It is our intention for all staff members to return to work on Monday 1st of June. Essence dental team will spend five days preparing the practice for reopening and practicing updated procedures before patients return to the practice. It is envisaged that the practice will reopen to normal patient treatments commencing Monday 8th June, current government and professional advice permitting.

Our patients with ongoing or delayed courses of treatment will be prioritised in the first three months of opening. 

Clean environment at Essence Dental Clinic

Our normal cross-infection control protocols at Essence Dental Clinic against all previously known pathogens are already woven into all clinical activity carried out at the practice. It should be remembered that the dental practice is already a very clean environment compared to public areas and it is not possible for us to control sources of infection outside the dental practice. You are much safer here than the supermarket or anywhere else. 

What are we doing right now at Essence dental clinic? 

Although the dental practice is closed, we are working very hard to plan for our return. Our aim is to create a robust “gold standard” of precautionary procedures and protocols that will protect our patients and staff to ensure we are all are safe as possible in every situation. This goes far and above any recommendations likely to be put in place by the NHS authorities. Let me explain in some detail our plans: –

Before you visit us:

We will give you a courtesy call to check for any issues surrounding your general health as well of course as asking about any signs and symptoms of coughs, colds and other signs of respiratory infections. We will also ask questions on the well-being of anyone in your close family circle as well as checking you have not recently travelled from any current high-risk areas in the World. Your appointments will be scheduled on the telephone, and in order to help maintain social distancing we will ask you to pre-pay for your treatment planned for the day. There will be still contactless payments available should you choose to purchase any oral hygiene products. This will greatly help limit your waiting time at the practice and help prevent the build-up of significant numbers of people together in our waiting area. These measures are highly recommended and are based on the proven best practice safe steps taken in Denmark, Germany, Spain and many other countries. 

We would recommend that patients in the high-risk category delay non-essential dental treatment for as long as possible until the trend of pandemic becomes clear. The following link will give you further information

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus

We will notify you if we feel that your treatment should be delayed.

When you arrive:

We will greet you and check that your temperature is normal. If your temperature is above the normal limit of 37.8C, you will be advised to rebook your treatment and follow the government guidelines for self-isolation. We will try to strictly limit the number of patients waiting and you may notice our appointment times are a little different; this is so we can stagger the arrival of our patients to help maintain social distancing as far as we reasonably can.

We will need you to use our special disinfectant hand rub and use a special anti-viral mouthwash to cleanse your mouth and throat. We will supply you with a mask to wear if you wish whilst you wait. For those who prefer, let us know you’ve arrived, and you can wait in your car with your driver outside the practice and we will call you in as soon as your appointment is ready to start.

The steps we must take to prepare ourselves and the treatment room: 

In an unprecedented endeavour, we have taken many steps to protect the safety of our team and most importantly to us – our patients: –

1. As a Team we will arrive at the practice and get changed into our work clothes and change again before we leave the premises. 
2. All surfaces including door handles, flushes in our washrooms, etc will be disinfected and wiped down three times in the day – before work, at lunchtime and after work. We will use a special product that is proven to be 80 times more effective than bleach, and yet is not toxic to people although highly effective against Coronavirus. This product has been used in the food industry for over 50 years and is not harmful to the environment. 
3. We will be using lots of extra layers of protection for you and our team. This includes expensive respirator masks, special gowns, hats, eye protection and visors – we are sorry, but we will sometimes look like we are in a hospital! Suppliers in the UK are overwhelmed with orders; however, we will ensure we surpass the guidelines the NHS set in due course and add additional key protection (see below!). 
4. Patients at high risk – we are aware that some of you are deemed higher risk patients, e.g. the elderly and people with certain health problems. We will discuss this with you when we book your appointments any special requirements you may have, and I emphasise your well-being is our number one priority. If needed, we will spend more time to ensure that those most in need are not put at added risk and we will try and accommodate you. 
5. Dental dam and other devices: We may use a sheet of material to isolate a tooth or teeth before we commence some treatments. Using a special powerful suction, we will keep you safe and comfortable as required whilst we do the work. 
6. Covering the dental chair and draping you –to add further layers of protection for you and the team.
7. Extra Time –Essence Dental clinic will be providing an additional buffer between periods between patients to allow additional time for decontamination procedures, allow for any treatment overruns and allow preparation time for next patient so that they do not need to wait in the reception area. 
8. Extra staff training –by the time we are back, ALL our staff will be expert in the latest methods of caring for our patients. We will make sure that all the work surfaces are cleaned thoroughly between patients and allow adequate time for the air purification and disinfection system to clean the air. This takes a little more time and you may notice many changes when you next visit! 
9. The financial aspect of Covid-19: Despite the financial impact of coronavirus, Essence Dental Clinic will not be increasing its normal fees for the foreseeable future unless necessary. 

All dental staff will be upgrading their personal protective equipment in line with current recommendations and evidence including FFP2 and FFP3 masks, visors and protective clothing as appropriate. We apologise in advance for the necessary reduction in social interaction that this will necessitate. Whilst our PPE may make us appear impersonal and distant, please be assured we are still the same friendly team underneath it all!

So, as you can see, we are taking every conceivable reasonable step we can to take care of your wellness. However, rest assured that we will treat you with our customary good humour and of course kindness and respect. We love helping our patients at Essence Dental Clinic and we will do everything we can to assist you.

As soon as we know our reopening date, we will start calling patients who had scheduled treatments planned in April, May and June, which we may have cancelled. I know that we will be extremely busy however if you have particularly urgent needs please do let us know and we will make every effort to help. As a team we have decided to offer some extended opening hours if needed and of course we will prioritise urgent treatments. If you have an emergency, or we may have inadvertently forgotten about you, please call us on 01708 346212 and we will be sure to help you.