| answer text |
<p>The Government is working to support and protect all our frontline National Health
Services health and care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, including dentists.</p><p>NHS
dentistry was reorganised in late March along with other NHS primary care services
to minimise face to face care to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the peak of
the pandemic. Dentists were asked to suspend all routine treatment and instead to
offer urgent advice and, where required, prescriptions for antibiotics by telephone.
Urgent treatment was made available through urgent dental centres (UDCs) set up in
each NHS region.</p><p>As of 25 May there are currently over 550 UDCs open across
England. Patients are triaged into UDCs by their own dentistry or through NHS 111.
The urgent dental centres are expected to provide, where urgently needed, the full
range of dental treatment normally available on the NHS.</p><p>NHS England and NHS
Improvement announced on 28 May that NHS dentistry outside urgent care centres will
begin to restart from 8 June with the aim of increasing levels of service as fast
as is compatible with maximising safety. A copy of the letter that was published can
be found on the NHS England website.</p><p>The latest COVID-19 guidance for dental
practices can be found at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/primary-care/dental-practice"
target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/primary-care/dental-practice</a></p>
|
|
