Virus backlog to cause real problems for dentists warns the Royal College
The back log of treatments caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will cause real prob - le ms for the dental services industry, the Royal College of Surgeons has warned.
While some treatments and urgent care have continued during the pandemic, full NHS treatments have not been allowed.
These will restart from 1 November, Public Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick announced on Monday.
But practices will need to limit the number of patients they see due to increased cleaning regimes, and Phil Taylor, Dean of the Faculty of
Dental Surgery, has warned that this will not mean a re - turn to normal. The Scottish public will not be easily able to access a dentist for regular treatment in the foreseeable future, he said.
"The news that dental practices can resu me w ider NHS services from 1 Nov ember is a positive step in the right direction, however the announcement does not mean practices will be able to return to normal ,” said Professor Taylor .“The abili ty to resume NHS services means practices will be able to offer more treatment options but they will not be able to see anywhere near the same number of patients as they did before lockdown due to ongoing restrictions on numbers as a result of required fallow periods and enhanced cleaning.
“This continues to pose real problems and means practices will still have huge back logs to work through. The Scottish public will not be easily able to access their dentist for regular treatment for the foreseeable future.”
Professor Taylor added that there is a ‘lack of meaningful support’ for dentistry in Scotland ." Lifting the restrictions on the use of a ero sol generating procedures (AGPs) in NHS treatment does not mean a return to normal for patients, or that practices will be out of financial difficulty,” he said.
Professor Taylor cited a recent study by business finance specialists Range well which found that some independent dental practices in the UK spent up to £10,000 a month in lock down to keep the business going while it was obliged to remain closed.
Nic Connor, Range well’ s head of research, also called on the UK and devolved governments to take urgent action to support independent healthcare providers, including dentists, pharmacies and opticians.
Professor Taylor said: “Our practices are in urgent need of support from the Scottish Government if they are to survive until restrictions are relaxed enough that they can begin to see higher numbers of patients.”
The Scottish government's route map out of lockdown has seen a phased return of dental treatment in recent months.
After lockdown first eased, NHS dentists could offer a limited range of services such as oral health checks and advice, Xrays, simple extractions, some denture repairs and temporary fillings in an emergency.
However, the restrictions did not apply to the private sector, causing cont roversy when the same dentists could carry out certain other procedures on patients prepared to pay.