Re-opening of Park Dental

We very much hope that you and your family are in good health.

We are pleased to announce that we will re-open Park Dental practice as of Wednesday the 1st July and this will begin under a phased opening structure. We understand that the government has announced the start of re-opening of dental practices in the UK from the 8th June 2020.  As you may appreciate, this was not possible for about two thirds of dental practices in the country according to a survey carried out by the BDA (British Dental Association).  The main reason for this is lack of PPE's (Personal Protective Equipment) in the UK and possibly globally. Our suppliers themselves have been let down by manufacturers leading to this major shortage. Subsequently, adequate staff training and fit testing are required which is currently in progress with everyone’s health and safety considered.

We are very thankful for your understanding during this time and appreciate your continued support and loyalty to the practice. These have been very difficult times for all of us and we understand that many of you have been unable to access the dental care you need.  Please kindly call the practice number in July to reschedule any appointments we have had to postpone and as promised we will endeavor to fulfill your dental requirements. If you already have appointments booked from July onwards, please consider these to be valid unless you hear from one of our team members.

Our priority, as always, is your safety and care and we would like to offer you reassurance that we have re-examined all of our procedures and protocols to ensure we provide the highest level of safety to you and our team.  We have always had very high levels of infection control in the practice but we have enhanced these measures even further to meet and go beyond new regulations and guidelines following the Covid-19 pandemic. Such measures include strict social distancing protocols, the investment and use of heavy duty PPE and installing specialist extractor fans to create negative pressure to exchange the air out of surgery efficiently during aerosol generating procedures; this special measure is also used in hospital settings to achieve the same result.

Your dental journey will be enhanced for your safety therefore you will notice a number of changes when you have your next appointment:

• Before your appointment you will be contacted by one of our team who will ask you to complete a questionnaire regarding your overall general health. This is to ensure that you don’t have symptoms of Covid-19 when you come to the practice.
• You will be asked to thoroughly brush your teeth, rehydrate and use the toilet before arrival to the practice.
• Where possible, you may be asked to wait in your car until your scheduled appointment time, this is to limit the number of patients in our waiting areas. A member of staff will either call your mobile phone or come to get you from the car park when the rooms are ready for you.
• On entering the practice you will be asked to place your belongings in a plastic box/bag provided and then asked to wash your hands or to use hand sanitiser gel and then please refrain from touching anything including your mouth. If you could kindly leave as many belongings in your car as practically possible.
• We will be taking and recording your temperature on arrival using a no-touch infrared thermometer.
• You may be asked to wear certain personal protective items including face masks and gloves. We will supply and dispose of these items for you.
• Perspex shield or ‘germ-guards’ will be installed along the reception desk, and safe social distancing will be observed alongside.
• We ask that you always practice social distancing whilst in public areas and these areas will be marked-out accordingly.
• If possible, we will request that you do not bring a companion with you, so we are able to limit number of people within the practice for their safety. If you do require further assistance, then please ask one our friendly staff members.
• You may see that our waiting rooms will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• You are likely to see your dentist/hygienist and nursing staff wearing additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Please be assured that it is still your old friendly team under these garments and we apologise for lack of visual expression or our usual extended ‘banter’. Hopefully this will only be for the short term.

• Before any dental treatment you will be asked by the dentist to gargle and rinse with a specific antiseptic mouthwash.
• We will be using special equipment to decontaminate the surgery between each patient to ensure a safe virus-free environment. There will be a longer clean down and disinfection process taking place between each patient therefore the length of your appointment and time between patients will be extended and we thank you for your patience in advance. All communal areas of the practice will be decontaminated regularly during the day, so apologies for the practice smelling like a swimming pool.
• As much as possible we will make your journey as contactless as we can. This means where possible all bookings, treatment plans, consents, payments and receipts will be carried out via telephone and email transactions.   We would also appreciate if payments are not made in cash.If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the practice on the number below.

Again, we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience during these unprecedented times and we very much look forward to seeing you soon.

Stay safe
The Team at Park Dental