Routine dental treatments have now been given the go-ahead to resume across practices in Lanarkshire this week.
The Scottish Government announced the return of routine treatment to dental surgeries as of November 1.
However, the announcement does not mean that dental services are back to business as usual as the processes and procedures put in place to mitigate against coronavirus transmission are still in force and are currently more important than ever.
Dentists will be seeing a lower number of patients in a day in order to keep everyone safe.
They will use their professional judgement to prioritise patients according to their knowledge of the patient’s clinical situation to ensure that those most at risk if treatment is further delayed will be seen soonest.
Any patient who is experiencing pain will continue to be a priority and they should contact their own dentist for advice and care as appropriate.
NHS Lanarkshire’s dental services say there will be no return to routine examinations for all patients in the near future and we would ask that the public shows some patience as we strive to deal with those most in need first.
Now the full range of NHS treatment is available, patients who are eligible will once again have the appropriate charges to pay.
Patients will continue to notice changes when they attend their dental practices.
The front doors will remain closed and patients can only attend if they have an appointment.
Where possible patients should attend the practice alone.
Practices will have limited surgeries operating at the same time and the number of patients attending daily remains reduced.
When calling to book an appointment, staff will complete a Covid-19 assessment with the patient and this will be repeated when the patient arrives for their appointment.
Individual practices will have their own processes in place, so please make sure you follow them.
The full range of NHS treatments will now be available and therefore patient charges will be re-instated for those eligible.
Patients should always contact their own dental practice for advice.
During out-of-hours, patients with urgent dental problems should continue to contact NHS 24 on 111.
