Drilling down on dental waiting lists

Our Dental Service has been drilling down on waiting lists built up during Covid thanks to some new kit and procedures.

Our teams, which work across Kent and north east London, often use high-speed instruments, like dental drills, scales or polishes, which generate aerosols and naturally can increase the risk of Covid spreading.

To protect everyone, the team invested in new equipment to reduce aerosol splatter, the risk of transmission and the time the clinic had to remain empty between appointments.

Marianne Boniface, Dental Project and Business Management Lead, said: “Each surgery is slightly different, but with aerosol generating procedures, we would have to leave a room for about 25 minutes before we could take another patient, due to air flow.

“Although the new equipment has meant clinicians adapting their working methods, the use of these reduced the need for aerosol generating procedures and means we can see more patients.

“We have now rolled this equipment out to all of our clinics to increase appointment availability, which in turn will reduce waiting times for patients.”

The changes have resulted in improved access to care, with more appointments available and greater patient choice regarding appointment times and locations.

It has also decreased the number of appointments at which FFP3 masks are required, which is more patient friendly, enabling easier communication.

• Our dental service runs17 clinics in North East London and Kent. We also provide dental services at three prison sites as well as general dental services.

The changes were made using a quality improvement (QI) way of working. Find out more on our QI website