Dentists

Dental practices need to open up and allow more treatments

Here is a copy of an email my dental practice sent me and other patients:

We hope you and your families are well during these testing times. We wish to update you on the current situation facing all Scottish dental practices that provide NHS services.

The Scottish Government (SG) announced it will allow dental practices with registered NHS patients to provide URGENT dental care involving aerosols from the 17th of August and ‘routine’ dental care from 13th of July 2020. However, SG, have forbidden the use of Aerosol Generating Procedures on ROUTINE NHS patients within the practice. This is any treatment involving air and/or water-95% of what we do involves aerosols. The Scottish Goverment, have failed to acknowledge that a check-up requires use of aerosols to enable adequate inspection of your teeth and to plan your treatment properly. As an NHS patient, if you require an aerosol procedure it can only be carried out in emergencies, such as; taking the nerve out of a tooth, surgical extraction or trauma.

Our clinical staff have been fit tested for advanced PPE and have undergone further cross infection training to comply with updated protocols and procedures. This ensures your visit to our practice is safe and reduces the risk for COVID-19 transmission. There is worldwide evidence supporting the safety of routine dental treatment with these measures. The SG department Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) also supports these measures therefore allowing us to offer private aerosol treatments in a safe manner.

Subsequently, the only effective non-aerosol treatments we can provide on the NHS are extractions and patch ups for teeth, or emergency treatment. There is no such restriction on providing aerosol treatments privately in our practice. We were given specific instruction by the SG, to offer private treatment as part of your options when consenting to your treatment plan.

NHS dentistry has been underfunded for years and is only feasible through Government subsidies and contractor practices such as ours, running an efficient business with a high number of patients and short appointments. This is no longer sustainable as the COVID-19 pandemic means we cannot see enough patients to make our businesses viable without SG support. Currently we are only permitted to see 10 patients per dentist per day.

The future of NHS dentistry in Scotland is questionable due to the lack of adequate support from the SG. The SG provided financial support during the closures they enforced but have not enhanced this support to enable us to provide sustainable NHS treatments on reopening.

We have written numerous letters to the SG to express our concerns yet they have imposed the closures and restrictions without proper consultation with the dental profession.

You are welcome to contact the practice for all your emergency and dental needs but we regret that the NHS treatments we provide will be restricted for the reasons stated. If you feel in any way concerned about the situation affecting you as an NHS patient we would encourage you to write to your MSP to express your dissatisfaction.

The practice is grateful for your continued support during this time.

North Road Dental Practice