Due to the current situation and current government guidance, we need to go through a few things before you attend the surgery.

Can we please ask that you attend in the following way:

• Alone and wearing a cloth face covering. We must all wear a mask in the practice and due to soaring costs of PPE and it’s limited and infrequent supply, we cannot supply you with your face covering. Anyone without a face covering will not be accepted into the building. This is a government safety requirement.
• Exceptions to coming alone are when the patient is a minor, or requires manual help due to mobility issues or help completing forms due to capacity issues. In these cases, the team must be informed prior to the dental appointment so that we can monitor and control the number of people in the building at any one time. Additional unexpected people (including siblings to the patient) will not be allowed entry. Everyone attending will need to wear a face mask.
• Bring a pen and a payment card (not cash or a cheque book). Please avoid attending other places on you way to the surgery and we ask that you do not bring along any additional baggage as there is no facility to store this during surgery time.
• Please bring with you an up-to-date copy of your medication from your GP. This will help us process and avoid any possible adverse reactions your dental treatment more rapidly.
• All patients MUST arrive promptly at the practice for their appointment time. Late attendees will not be permitted entry due to strict social distancing regulations. Your lateness will impact on appointment times of others and there is no possible safe way that you can be just squeezed in.

Arriving for your appointment

When attending for your appointment, you will find the door locked. This is to prevent the public from just walking straight in and compromising people inside. The door bell has been deactivated to prevent the uninvited from leaning against it to gain our attention. Telephone the practice once you are outside. 0191 252 1155. The number is printed on the front window also.

You will be greeted at the door by a member of the nursing team who will take your temperature and ask; if you feel unwell, have a persistent cough or if someone in your home is self-isolating with these symptoms. We ask that you answer truthfully to the best of your knowledge. This must have a temperature below 37.8 ^oC for you to be permitted entrance to the practice, as per government guidance.

Upon entering the practice, you will be instructed to alcohol gel your hands. This is not optional, we have to expect that everyone follows our safety procedures to ensure there is no possibility of cross infection. Please try not to touch surfaces unnecessarily. With this in mind, the dentist and nurse will not be offering a hand shake and will not be taking your glasses to keep safe. Anyone wearing glasses should keep them on throughout the duration of the appointment.

In the dental surgery

Once signed in, you will be immediately escorted to your surgery by a member of the nursing team and instructed to sit in the non-dental chair. This is to enable social distancing of two meters to take place whilst the dentist updates medical histories and obtains a history of your dental problem.

When the dentist is ready, you will be instructed to take a seat in the dental chair in order for the dentist to complete any assessment and treatment.

Once your appointment is over, you will be guided from the practice by a member of the team to enable social distancing throughout the practice.

Around the practice

To minimise contact in the reception area, we are taking all NHS check-up and urgent appointment fees over the phone now prior to you attending the practice except if you are a Denplan patient.

If you have received any treatment, it is likely that there will be an additional NHS or Private charge to pay. Any additional charge will be discussed and agreed prior to your treatment.  We will ask that you pay via contactless measures before leaving the practice. At present we will not be accepting cash or cheques as this will cause disinfection problems at the desk.

Any necessary follow-up appointments will be made over the phone by our reception team once you are home.

Due to social distancing and new infection control requirements, we currently do not have any patient toilet facilities available. We do apologise for the inconvenience but this would require careful monitoring and disinfection after every use which we do not have the manpower or PPE resources to implement. 

We apologise for the tone of this letter, but we must stress the importance of your role in promoting a safe visit to our practice. We thank you for your patience during this difficult and trying time and look forward to seeing you soon.

Kind regards,

Ilfracombe Dental Practice Team

The post COVID safety procedures when you attend our practice appeared first on Ilfracombe.

Wednesday 25^th December   Closed

Thursday 26^th December        Closed

Friday 27^th December 0830 – 1600
(limited appointments for emergencies only)

Monday 30^th December 0830 – 1730
(limited appointments for emergencies only)

Tuesday 31^st December 0830 – 1730
(limited appointments for emergencies only)

Wednesday 1^st Jan   Closed

We would like to wish all of our patients a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The post Christmas and New Year Opening Hours 2019 appeared first on Ilfracombe.

The post Dental hygienist extended hours appeared first on Ilfracombe.

The post Renovations May 2018 appeared first on Ilfracombe.

The voucher will be issued 6 months after joining Denplan and must be used within a 6-month period after receipt.  Terms and conditions apply, which will be explained on enquiry. 

The post Denplan Whitening Offer appeared first on Ilfracombe.

The post Summer Whitening Offer appeared first on Ilfracombe.

We would like to say “congratulations” to our associate dentist Celine Reynolds who has recently passed her Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) exams.

Dr David Hickleton has been awarded Foundation Dentist training status again. This means a recently qualified NHS dentist will be starting in September. 

Most of you have probably now seen our brand new decontamination suite. We have also built a new oral hygiene unit so please bring your toothbrush at your next appointment so we can make sure you are brushing your teeth effectively! The refurbishment continues upstairs as we develop and expand the Denplan and private area. Apologies for any inconvenience along the way. 

Please also note that our hygienist Karen is becoming increasingly popular – with this in mind, please book ahead for your hygienist appointment.

The post Practice News for June appeared first on Ilfracombe.

This is what they call a “soft launch”, which means all of the essential information is already here. But we also plan to develop and update this website over time, bringing you news from our practice and providing a wealth of information and resources aimed at promoting preventative dentistry.

At Ilfracombe Dental Practice, we believe strongly that prevention is better than cure.  We regard information as the means to proper healthy decisions and we believe this information should be shared by all. So whether you are an existing patient, a new patient or just somebody with a dental question, please revisit our site regularly to watch our updates or follow us on Facebook.

We hope to see you soon.

The post Welcome to our new website appeared first on Ilfracombe.

As some of you may have noticed, we now have a brand spanking new decontamination room where our instruments are sterilised and stored, and we also have a new upstairs toilet.  Thank you all for your patience whilst that was getting constructed.

We’ve also installed a designated toothbrushing station where we can check that you or your child’s brushing is really effective.  If you’ve forgotten to brush your teeth before your visit you are also welcome to use this facility.  Toothbrushes are available at reception.

We hope that you are taking advantage our highly experienced hygienist services from Karen.  If you haven’t seen her yet, why not book an appointment?  Prevention is at the heart of what we do especially with the hundreds of kids that come here.  We’ve sourced all the best tooth cleaning products on the market and sell them at supermarket-beating prices.

We hope the new reception fish tank keeps the kids amused while you wait, and we hope that you like the telly too.

The post Thank you to our patients for a year of growth appeared first on Ilfracombe.