Patients Can Now Book Face to Face Appointments

Dear Patients,

Following the announcement by the government on 28th May, Dental Health Stop will resume face to face appointments from Monday 8th June 2020.

We have had to cancel numerous appointments since the lockdown began 3 months ago and will initially be prioritising appointments for our existing patients who have had dental emergencies or appointments cancelled, in order of urgency.

If you have a dental emergency during our normal working hours, please contact the practice by telephone on 01902 398755/780643. If the practice is closed, please call NHS 111.

If you would like to book an appointment please call the practice on 01902 398755/780643, do not attend unless you have an appointment.

Do not attend if you or anyone you live with have symptoms of COVID-19

  • High temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
  • New, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
  • Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

If you have any of these symptoms, please return home and call NHS 111

Changes to The Practice

Our patient toilet facilities are closed.

Super Clean Environment at Dental Health Stop

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 as safe as possible in every situation. This goes far and above any recommendations likely to be put in place by the NHS authorities

Our normal cross-infection control protocols at Dental Health Stop already guard against all previously known pathogens and are already woven into all clinical activity carried out at the practice. It should be remembered that our dental practice is already a very clean environment compared to public areas.

You are much safer here than the supermarket or anywhere else.

Our Team: As a Team we will arrive at the practice and get changed into our work clothes and change again before we leave the premises.

We all have our temperatures checked and recorded daily.

Extra Staff Training

ALL our staff are now trained in the latest methods of and Disinfection and patient management in an attempt to ensure we can provide the best care for our patients.

New Air Purification and Disinfection Units

As you know, Covid-19 is an airborne virus and even when simply breathing and speaking infected people can accidentally expose others to risk. To protect you and the team we have invested in very high specification air purification units of the type commonly used in hospitals in many parts of the World. These scrub the air of ALL germs as well as ALL noxious chemicals and keep the air clean and healthy for you and the team whilst you are in the treatment rooms and reception areas. We are making this high investment currently despite having no income at all for several months, However, you and our team are my primary concern as there is no price to be put on health!

We will be Using Lots of Extra Layers of Protection for You and Our Team

To include expensive respirator masks, special gowns, eye protection and visors, don’t worry, we are still the same people underneath and we will try to make this time in the dental chair as comfortable as ever. 

Environmental Cleaning

All surfaces including bannisters and door handles will be disinfected on numerous occasions throughout the day. 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.

Extra Long Appointment Times 

We 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. Unfortunately, this will impact the number of appointments available, but it is essential to keep you safe.

Before Entering The Practice

Before you can attend the practice, we will contact you to do a Pre-attendance assessment which includes your medical history, personal details and other information.

The Day of Your Appointment

  • We are asking you to wait in your car until your appointment time
  • Attend alone
  • Do not bring unnecessary items with you e.g. bags and coats
  • You will be greeted by a member of staff maintaining social distancing and you may have your temperature measured
  • Instructed to sanitise your hands
  • Contactless/card payments will be taken- no cash please
  • Advised where to sit
  • The dental nurse will then call you into the surgery where everything will be ready to start the dental treatment

In The Surgery

  • We may require you to rinse with an Anti-Viral mouthwash prior to starting your consultation

After Your Treatment

  • After the treatment you will be guided out of the premises
  • You may be asked to use the back door
  • Surfaces will be disinfected meticulously and regularly

This policy will be constantly reviewed and updated as necessitated by circumstances over time.

Tips to help manage dental problems until you can see a dentist. Managing Toothache at Home