Following a move on Monday 22 June which enabled NHS dental practices across Greater Glasgow and Clyde to reopen doors to deliver face-to-face urgent dental care, plans are now in place to allow practices to deliver routine care from 13 July onwards.
Routine care such as check-ups and treatments will be delivered alongside current urgent care provision. Practices may not be able to see as many patients as normal due to safety measures put in place in light of COVID-19.
Additionally no treatment which involves aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), for example, the use of high speed drills and powered scalers, will be allowed.
For the moment, AGPs will continue to take place at NHSGGC’s urgent dental care centres (UDCCs), set up during the pandemic, and this model will remain in place until it is deemed safe for practices to reinstate AGP treatments. Anyone requiring an AGP for urgent dental care will be referred by their own dentist to a UDCC, located throughout Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Lee Savarrio, Chief of Dentistry from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said:
“The gradual remobilisation of NHS dental services should be welcome news for patients and dental staff alike. More than half of our NHS practices across Greater Glasgow and Clyde have indicated their wish to reopen to provide face-to-face care and treatment for urgent dental issues. As we move into Phase 3 from Monday 13 July, the hope is patients will be able to experience a more ‘normal’ service, albeit with additional enhanced safety measures in place and with the ongoing support from the UDCCs.
“As NHS dental services remobilise, we will continue to work closely with the dental community across NHSGGC to ensure each practice has access to the support and guidance required and they can operate safely and confidently in the context on COVID-19.”