In March all Scottish Dental practices were instructed to close by the Scottish Government due to the Coronavirus pandemic. NHS dental services are being reintroduced in phases but with significant restrictions on the treatments that can be provided. As it stands we are not yet allowed to provide routine treatments involving the use of drills, air syringes or scalers on the NHS. The Scottish Government have not yet announced when the restrictions on NHS dental treatments will be lifted.

On the 22nd of June we began to carry out a limited range of urgent treatments in practice, avoiding referrals to Urgent Dental Care Centres. The restrictions were furthered eased on the 17th of August allowing us to start using our drills again, but only for patients requiring emergency care and with restrictions on the amount of patients we could see in a day.

We are aware of a growing number of patients frustrated by lack of access to a full range of dental treatments.

On 8th June Health Improvement Scotland confirmed that dentists can offer a comprehensive range of private treatments, assuming effective measures are in place to protect public and staff safety. Since then many practices across Scotland have resumed the provision of a full range of private dental treatments.

We are satisfied that we now have the necessary policies, procedures and PPE in place to resume the provision of all dental treatments on a private basis from Monday 7th September.

Our patients who need care will have a choice between the limited range of services currently available on the NHS, or a comprehensive range of private treatments. Staff will be able to advise on the cost of private treatments, and we will publish these on our website at the earliest opportunity.

We regret the inconvenience that the pandemic has caused our patients. We look forward to welcoming you back to the practice in better times and we are grateful for your patience.

Best wishes
Esk Dental Care