COVID-19 GUIDANCE AND UPDATES
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Current
The practice is now seeing patents for all care that was delivered pre COVID-19. We are asking patients not to attend practice if you or anyone in the household has COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms.
Previous restrictions
The practice is now seeing patents for all care that was delivered pre COVID-19.
We are asking patents not to attend practice if you or anyone in the household has COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms. When you attend practice please wear a facemask or face covering.
20th February 2021
Regarding routine check-up appointments, please allow us to contact you when you are next on our list. We are working through our waiting list for check-ups on a chronological basis from when they were cancelled during the first UK national lockdown.
4th January 2021
After the new government announcement on a national lockdown on Monday 4th January 2021, we would like to reassure you all that we remain open! We are also starting to resume routine check-ups/routine dental care and will continue to treat and support our patients through this difficult period.
November 4th 2020
We have had quite a few enquiries recently as to if we can still provide personal oral hygiene and care products for collection.
Contactless collection can be arranged with pre allocated collection slots to maintain social distancing. This will be by card payment only which can be taken either over the phone at the time of ordering or at the practice front door on collection.
We are also able to provide repeat prescriptions for prescription only oral care products on request.
Orders can be taken by email contactus@doredentalcare.co.uk or call us on 0114 236 8402
October 21st 2020
We would like to again reassure our patients that, as far as we have been advised, the practice will not close even as we enter tier 3 restrictions in Sheffield from Saturday. We now have all the correct PPE and procedures in place to operate safely. We will however be restricted to operating at our current level of emergency and dental problems only.
Thank you
Dore Dental Care
October 13th 2020
We would like to reassure our patients that as far as we have been advised, the practice will not close again even as we enter a period of extra restrictions in Sheffield. We now have all the correct PPE and procedures in place to operate safely. We may however be restricted to operating at our current level for a longer period.
As a practice we are still prioritising dental emergencies and will hopefully be moving very soon towards contacting anyone who was in treatment before lockdown that is incomplete.
Once we are at a point where we can resume routine care we will first be prioritising patients who had routine appointments booked during and since lockdown. We will advise further on how these patients will be prioritised when we get to this point.
If we do receive any further guidance from our governing bodies over the next few days with regards to the local lockdown we will publish this on here, on the notice board outside the practice and also on our answer phone service.
Thank you
Dore Dental Care
August 20th 2020
We are receiving a large volume of calls to the practice enquiring as to why we have not resumed routine dental care when most other areas of society are now back up and running.
We are following strict guidelines from our dental governing bodies on fallow times and cleaning procedures between patients. This means that currently we can only see a very limited amount of patients per day. If we were to resume routine appointments, due to the aerosols generated during a scale and polish, we would need to book an hour per appointment with an hours clean down time between patients.
The knock on effect would mean we would be unable to offer these appointments to our patients who are suffering dental pain/problems, many of whom have been dealing with these problems since the start of lockdown.
Whilst most people are being very understanding of the situation we are getting a few calls from people who are not so understanding. Our staff are doing the best they can in what is a very difficult time for everybody. Please bear with us and we will hopefully be able to update you on when routine care can resume in the coming months.
Thank you from everyone at DDC
July 3rd 2020
From Monday 6th July we will be contacting anyone who has been triaged by a dentist during the lockdown period and deemed in need of further treatment. You will be offered an initial assessment appointment so the dentist can establish what further treatment you need to be booked in for.
From Tuesday 7th July we will be opening our phone lines from 8.45am. Our reception team will take a few details from you and advise you of a triage time slot for a dentist to call you back. The dentist can then establish what further action is required.
If your enquiry is deemed non urgent you will be asked to phone back at a later date.
Please understand that due to dental governing regulations we are only able to see a certain number of patients per day to allow time between appointments. This means we will be able to see far far fewer patients than pre lockdown and waiting times will be longer as a result.
We will be releasing our patient information letter on Monday but here is a quick glance at some of the safety measures that will be in place:
No patients will be allowed on site without a pre booked appointment
Patients will be asked to attend appointments alone unless they need to bring someone who is directly involved in their care.
Patients should only arrive a maximum of 5 minutes before appointment time. Patients may be asked to wait outside until we are ready for them
All patients are required to wear a mask in clinical settings (outside of the dental chair). Patients are asked to arrive in their own mask where possible.
Patients will receive a screening phone call 24 hours before their appointment and will be screened again on arrival
Any telephone enquiries that are non urgent will be asked to phone back at a later date
We will only be taking card payments at this time. Contactless is requested where possible. You may be asked to pay some upfront.
June 30th 2020
UPDATE: At present we are aiming to reopen the practice from mid July. We will confirm an exact date in the coming days. We will be contacting everyone who has been triaged by a dentist during the lockdown period as priority. These patients will be given priority treatment slots. After this we will be opening the telephone lines for a further telephone triage service to establish who needs to be seen urgently and slots will be given in a priority order.
Unfortunately at this time there are still certain procedures that we unable to undertake due to the dental governing body guidelines, this will be explained to you prior to any appointments being booked.
We do not envisage routine dental check ups resuming for some months and will issue a guide regarding booking these routine appointments as soon as we know more.
Please note when we do reopen we will not be allowing anyone on site without a pre-booked appointment. You will need to contact us via the practice telephone number to book - 0114 2368402. We understand lines are likely to be very busy but please keep trying. We will answer calls as quickly as we possibly can.
In preparation for the surgery reopening we have put together a patient information letter detailing some of the new safety measures that have been put in place. We will be releasing this in the coming days on our facebook page. A hard copy will also be available for anyone not able to access online platforms.
June 3rd 2020
NHS England and the Chief Dental Officer for England have now confirmed any practice that feels it is appropriately prepared can provide face to face patient care from 8th June.
At Dore Dental Care we have been working hard behind the scenes for the past 2 months to ready the practice for the new path which dentistry will have to follow. Our priority has always been and continues to be the safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff. Our practice will only be reopening once we are satisfied that we have all of the necessary processes, policies and PPE in place to ensure that safety. There is still much work to do in order for us to be ready to provide our full range of services in an effective and safe manner.
Our aim is to reopen as soon as we possibly can, however, at this point we are unable to confirm a date. We will keep you updated on our social media over the coming weeks with our plans and how our new patient journey will look.
All routine appointments will be automatically postponed. We will issue guidance on rebooking these appointments as soon as we have that information available.
In the meantime if you have an urgent dental problem please continue to call us on 0114 2368402