Post Covid-19 Reopening policy

20 May 2020

Post Covid-19 Reopening policy

We hope everyone has kept safe over the lockdown period.

We would like to thank all our patients for their patience during the period of temporary practice closure and for their understanding and cooperation whilst we implement new measures at the practice.

Our re-opening policy has been created based on current updated sources from within the dental and medical professions and government. It outlines modifications to our normal procedures after the COVID-19 pandemic peak has subsided. The policies and recommendations are likely to change in line with new scientific evidence over time.

At Brigstock Dental infection control has always been a top priority and we have processes in place to ensure that the care you receive is both safe and comfortable.

The Brigstock team have been working hard over the last weeks upgrading the clinic and training our staff. We will of course be providing dental care to all our patients in the safest possible environment. We greatly appreciate your assistance with any new or modified procedures at the practice.

Provisional Timetable

The practice will re-open for patients who require urgent dental assessment and treatment on Monday 8th June 2020.

This will be extended this other patient groups as the lockdown restrictions are eased further to include:

• Patients with treatment that was not completed prior to lockdown
• Patients who were due for routine examinations during the period of closure

We recommend that patients in the high-risk groups for developing complications from coronavirus delay non-essential dental treatment for as long as possible until the trend of the pandemic becomes clear. If you are in a high-risk group and do require treatment, we will schedule your appointment at the beginning of the day.

New Measures
New measures to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission:

• Please telephone the practice if you require an appointment. Patients will only be seen if they have a booked appointment.
• Our reception team will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. We will also ask you to fill in an online medical questionnaire prior to attending to minimise contact at reception and increase the efficiency of your appointment.
• Brigstock Dental will be operating contactless payment systems going forwards, and we will request that payment is made over the phone for your appointment prior to you attending. This reduces the requirement for unnecessary contact or use of pin entries on card terminals at reception.
• When travelling to the practice, we would recommend that you limit close contact with other members of the public as far as possible. The front door will remain locked. Please wait in your car or in a safe place outside and phone us when you arrive. We will meet all patients at the front door and take your temperature with a no-touch thermometer and give you an alcohol hand sanitiser. If you are well, we will direct you straight into the surgery. If your temperature is above 37.8°C you will be unable to enter the practice and will be asked to return home and self-isolate as per the current government guidelines.
• The waiting room will have social-distancing floor markings and the reception desk has been fitted with perspex screens. All clinical and common areas will be regularly disinfected in addition to our normal surface cleaning protocols between patients.
• Appointments will be more staggered to allow additional time for disinfection procedures in the surgery and aid social distancing. This may mean there may be fewer options for scheduling of your appointment.
• All dental staff will be using personal protective equipment in line with current recommendations. We apologise in advance for the necessary reduction in social interaction that this will necessitate. Whilst out masks may make us appear impersonal and distant, please be assured we are still the same friendly team underneath it all!
• We are especially mindful that many dental treatments are aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs).
• It is difficult for us to carry out some dental procedures without generation of some level of aerosol.

Aerosol suspended in the air is a theoretical source of infection which we obviously want to keep to a minimum.

Current literature suggests:

• Our use of our normal high-volume suction reduces aerosol production by over 90%.
• The use of dental rubber dam where possible reduces bio-aerosols by a further 30 to 90%
• Our regular surgical facemasks filter approximately 60% of remaining airborne particles.
• FFP2 and FFP3 masks filter 94% and 99% respectively of airborne particles in both directions (patient to clinician and clinician to patient).

We therefore feel that our normal dental procedures can be carried out with minimal risk using high-volume suction, rubber dam, surgical and FFP2/3 masks as appropriate.

Thank you once again for your understanding.

Brigstock Dental & Implant Centre Team