Need plans for dentistry services
Some provision is needed for dental services. At present only extractions are available, and those only in cases of extreme pain. Plans are needed to provide a service which can deal with lesser problems, if only to prevent them from worsening until conditions improve.
Why the contribution is important
My wife was about to have two problems treated when the surgery was closed, and is increasing pain from one tooth and constantly having to make temporary repairs to the other. I have a crown which has been loose since the lockdown began - not painful but increasingly uncomfortable. We keep asking when treatment for problems not requiring emergency extractions will be available, since we have no symptoms and have not been exposed to the virus, but can get no answers. There must be many other people in the same situation - we met one by chance only today.
by duncanlunan on May 08, 2020 at 04:55PM
Posted by BillWinton May 08, 2020 at 17:06
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Posted by Ranmor May 08, 2020 at 17:31
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Posted by HighlandLass May 08, 2020 at 17:32
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Posted by kedra May 08, 2020 at 18:08
If dentistry were treated like healthcare we would recognise that leaving people with infections and in pain isn't acceptable.
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Posted by Morven1 May 08, 2020 at 18:25
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Posted by Anonymous1 May 08, 2020 at 19:22
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Posted by Algregor May 08, 2020 at 20:55
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Posted by Ginger May 08, 2020 at 21:18
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Posted by CHill May 08, 2020 at 21:37
When I had to phone my Dental Surgery with a broken back tooth I was disappointed at the response. Was told to go into town and find an Emergency Dental Kit myself. None left in the Chemist and had to buy online and wait for delivery. Really begs the question why our Dentists haven't secured a stock of Kits (basically its dental cement an applicator and no instructions) to send out to their patients with proper professional guidance. It was very stressful at an already difficult time. I can't rely on the home repair and eating is more of an ordeal than a pleasure for …………. a horribly long time I fear if nothing starts up soon.
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Posted by Lightbulb May 08, 2020 at 22:03
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Posted by Russell May 09, 2020 at 11:01
I've asked my MSP and the Chief Dental Officer for Scotland to explain the Scottish Government's decision to halt all but emergency dental treatment and the evidence that supports it. I've yet to see any evidence. This only undermines my trust in government advice and experts, and weakens compliance with suppression measures.
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Posted by EKopinion May 09, 2020 at 19:17
Think the restrictions could be relaxed slightly to allow other forms of treatment
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Posted by taysider May 10, 2020 at 08:51
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Posted by PKWhite May 11, 2020 at 18:23
From the policy document released by the British Association of Private Dentists - As dental professionals, we have existing expertise at implementing universal precautions and a consistently high level of cross infection control. (R. Shah, 2009) and there is currently no evidence anywhere in the world of excess SARS-CoV-2 infections within dentist and dental care professional (DCP) populations. (T. Cook, 2020) (C. Heneghan, 2020) (Chustecka, 2020). Additionally, there are no reports of Super Spreader Events (SSEs) or “hotspots” for patient or dental non-clinical staff member infections with SARS-CoV-2 anywhere, worldwide. (Kay, 2020)
And-
There is no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between dental professionals and patients. The most up to date study from Wuhan (Meng at al 2020) suggest no reported deaths from the provision of dental care to COVID-19 positive patients. Studies such as those conducted by Richards (2020) highlight the role of rubber dam in prevention of micro-organism spread, and consequently need serious consideration. This has been adopted by many countries as a reason
to keep the profession providing a much-needed service. The UK has created
a situation where dental practices have closed, without any scientific evidence supporting these decisions, risking patient health in the process. The financial impact of this is beyond the scope of this article; the reality is, however, dire for many practices nationwide. Many of these practices have the required PPE in place to provide a non-AGP emergency service from tomorrow, instantly easing the workload of UDCs and reducing the need for patients to travel. The financial impacts upon practices acting as a UDC have not gone unnoticed in the national press in recent days, as well as reports of inadequate PPE provision.
It would seem standard PPE and procedures prior to the outbreak were working and so any changes to operating procedure should be evidence based and not based on a theoretical risk. Dentists and their staff should be assuming the patient is carrying something infective and used to thorough hand cleaning and cleaning of the surgery between patients. The only negative to all practices reopening and treating patients would be the pressures on already scarce PPE equipment.
It is well established that patients, generally, would prefer to have their dental treatment carried out by their normal dentist who they have developed a trust in.
Hopefully with reasonable and realistic risk assessment to protect staff and patients we can get back to something approaching normality in the dental profession. Our triaging so far has identified a growing backlog of patients with issues that will have to be addressed before routing care can be resumed.
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