Message from Principle Dentist Dr Zaki Anwar BDS
To all our patients/our family,
Firstly, I trust you and your loved ones are continuing to keep safe and well during this difficult time. We know how frustrating this time has been for you, as it has been for us in our inability to see you.
This post is regarding the actions we are taking about our reopening strategy in light of government direction from the Chief Dental Officer of England and growing scientific evidence regarding treating patients safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its risk of transmission to both patients and staff.
At the moment, the advice from the Chief Dental Officer for dentists is still to be closed for all routine dental treatment. If at the moment you are having any dental issues that you wish to discuss, please contact us via email at team@beanoakdentalcare.co.uk, or if you are suffering from a severe dental emergency (severe pain, swelling or serious dental trauma), please call the Bean Oak Emergency Call line on 07748 837449 9am-4pm Mon-Fri (out of hours please call 111) to be triaged by one of our dentists. Any severe emergencies can be triaged by ourselves, and we can prescribe over the phone if necessary, but you can only be seen by a dentist at the NHS Urgent Care Centre that has been set up locally.
Moving forward, we are in the process of procuring advanced PPE and training our staff for the ‘new normal’ that the risk of Covid-19 transmission creates. Treatments defined as Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) which create spray (such as high-speed drilling and ultrasonic scaling) are the ones most at risk to transmit Covid-19. This creates new boundaries for treatment which need to be defined, but even basic things will require a more advanced level of protection for both staff and patients.
Hopefully, we are looking to reopen in the middle of June, but this reopening will be a staggered process, with emphasis of treating a backlog of emergencies that the lock-down has created. It might be sometime before a lot of routine treatments will be available, and some treatment might have new limitations that the risk of viral transmission has imposed. It will not be business as normal, and we will appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding during this process. The feedback from you all during this lock-down has been amazing, and we really hope to see you and your families as soon as we can.
Stay Safe!