Dentists are told to reopen from June 8 after three-month shutdown due to coronavirus 

Dentists are told to reopen from June 8 after three-month shutdown due to coronavirus

  • CDO Sara Hurley said dentists should start routine appointments from 8 June
  • Since lockdown, dentists have only been able to treat emergency conditions 
  • Surgeries may have to change their layout & will need to stick to PPE guidelines 
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Dentists in England have been told to reopen from 8 June as Britain continues to relax lockdown measures. 

Sara Hurley, the Chief Dentistry Officer (CDO) for England, said today that dentists can start taking routine appointments in just 10 days. 

Dentists were permitted to perform emergency treatments throughout lockdown but everyday appointments for fillings, crowns and bridges were barred to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Dentist Fiez Mughal (left) and Dental Nurse Johanna Bartha (right) carry out a procedure on a patient in one of the six surgery rooms at East Village dental practice today in London, England

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced today that all five conditions to bring the country out of lockdown had been met, which the CDO previously said would be key to sending the industry back to work.  

The CDO added today that surgeries will need to comply with the government’s PPE and Infection Prevention Control requirements before opening.  

Hurley conceded that dentists will still need to offer online consultations and that there would be drastic changes to how surgeries operate, the Sun reported. 

She said surgeries may have to be modified depending on their layout. 

Waiting rooms may need to be partitioned with perspex glass, magazines and children’s toys could be removed, and chairs will need to be set in line with the two-metre rule. 

She said patients will be accepted depending on the severity of the condition. 

In a letter to the industry earlier this month, Hurley wrote: ‘As a profession we are not unaccustomed to difficult decisions. 

‘But the ramifications of mis-judging the risk in the current environment are significant.’

She added that the industry must prepare for a ‘new era for dental care’.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk