Post Covid-19 Return To Work Policy for Longford House Dental Practice

We would like to thank all our patients for their understanding and patience during the COVID pandemic. We would like to keep you informed as we are continually reviewing guidance on how to resume dental care for our patients.

Clean environment at Longford House Dental Practice

Our normal cross-infection control protocols at Longford House Dental Practice 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.

Before you visit us:

When you call to book an appointment, we will 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 may ask you to pre-pay for your treatment planned for the day. We have a contactless payment system at the practice should you wish to use it. 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.

When you arrive:

We will greet you and check that your temperature is normal. If your temperature is above the normal limit of 37.8 C,  you will be advised to rebook your appointment 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. You may be asked to stay in your cars or wait outside until we are ready to take you in for your appointment.

We will need you to use our special disinfectant hand rub and you will be asked to wear a facemask. 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.

You will also notice safe social distancing signs on floors and walls and we would kindly ask you all to respect these instructions for the safety of our patients and staff. Our staff members will help to open and close doors for our patients, reducing the contact required within the practice. Also please do not be offended if we do not shake hands, but respecting social distancing rules will protect both you and us.

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.
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!
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 we 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.
5. Dental rubber dam and other devices: We may use a sheet of material to isolate a tooth or teeth before we commence some treatments. Using a 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–Longford House Dental Practice 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 the next patient so that they do not need to wait in the reception area.

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 personal protective equipment 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 Longford House Dental Practice and we will do everything we can to assist you.

If you have an emergency, or we may have inadvertently forgotten about you, please call us on 01702 292615 and we will be sure to help you.

These are unusual and tough times for all of us, thank you for your patience!

As a Team, we always assure you of our best attention. Please keep safe.