6th April, 2020

CORONA VIRUS- EAST CALDER SMILE CENTER UPDATE

Our doors are shut for routine dental care but we are still here for you to try and help as much as possible.. Dentistry is mainly ‘aerosol generating’ and we have been rightly advised by the Scottish Government to stop aerosol generating procedures. We have a legal duty to safe guard our staff and look after ourselves and family. Its a difficult decision but safety of our patients and team members is of utmost importance and hence we had to stop our routine dental procedures and are only offering telephone advice Monday- Friday 9-6 P.M for dental emergencies.

We have teamed up with 2 other buddy practices in the Dalkeith/ Midlothian area and a dentist will be available during the above hours for telephone advice for dental emergencies. We don’t have the adequate PPE ( personal protective equipment) /hazmat suits to protect from COVID-19 and hence had to stop aerosol generating procedures. Our team at East Calder Smile Center follows very strict universal infection control procedures including disinfection of all surfaces between patients, try and use single use disposable consumables wherever possible, using a clinical waste bin and the clinical waste gets incinerated and any reusable instruments are strictly sterilised using washer disinfector and autoclaves at 134 degrees.

We follow the dental triage algorithm for general dental practitioners issued by the Lothian health board when triaging patients over the phone for urgent dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working with our list of patients who have scheduled appointment to get it rebooked/reschelduled.Please bear with us while we work through this list and once we are up and running we can arrange for your pending /forthcoming appointments.Equally you can get in touch with us @ 0510 688 1566 / info@eastcaldersmilecenter.co.uk

The threat to the NHS is severe and we are trying our level best to reduce their load /reduce the number of phone calls to NHS 24 by doing a telephone triage for patients needing urgent dental care and free up their line to a degree in our capacity.Its disturbing and deeply concerning to see the number of death rates jumping up every day .So we all need to do our part to help each other sticking to social distancing and staying indoors where possible.East Calder Smile Center is committed to patient dental care and we are available to assist the wider NHS,including the public dental service, when asked by the Lothian health board.