LOCKDOWN LEADER: Dr Patrick Tarrant
It’s the nightmare scenario that’s induced sweaty palms all round: suddenly developing chronic toothache during Lockdown, when the dentists are closed. Last May, Fay Rayward from Shropshire even took matters into her own hands, when she tried to pull her own tooth out with a pair of pliers. "The pain for me was worse than childbirth,” she told Metro newspaper, after a filling fell out exposing the nerve in her split lower molar. “I have never experienced pain like it, it was searing through the side of my face. It was just awful.” Fay managed to get an emergency appointment, and have her tooth removed – but for millions of others, the closure of their local dentist has proven a literal jaw-ache.
However, relief is on the way for both patients – and some self-employed dentists, who’ve been itching to get back to work. Today’s Lockdown Leader shout-out goes to those courageous tooth mechanics returning to work this week. As from today, Dental practices in the UK are allowed to reopen (although the British Dental Association (BDA) says that social distancing measures and a shortage of PPE will slow the resumption of services, and only a third of the usual number of patients can be treated at this time. Further, surgeries will only be allowed to operate if appropriate safety measures are in place – which some dentists say wasn’t enough warning. “Anyone expecting dentistry to magically return on Monday will find only a skeleton service," says BDA chair Mick Armstrong. And patients will discover some changes on their return, such as: limited use of waiting areas, waiting rooms chairs spaced 2m apart, and physical barriers in reception areas.
Yes, our dentists have had, and are having, a rather difficult time of it lately, being small businesses, who’ve had to invest in special measures. So here’s a special shout-out to one practitioner (and long time friend of MTL) who is looking forward to getting back into the drill again – Patrick Tarrant, based at 40, Harley Street. “After 11 long weeks it's so good to be getting back even if things are going to be a little strange at first,” he says. “There wasn’t much official guidance other than saying routine dental procedures should stop as of March 25th . This left some patients mid treatment and and some emergency patients suffering and in pain. I provided prescriptions (for antibiotics and painkillers) for many of my patients early on in Lockdown and then set to work researching what I’d need to ensure the safety of my patients and staff and a continuation of dental care.”
Tarrant has made sure his investments have rendered his surgery completely safe for his patients, what he calls “a true belt and braces approach to patient and staff safety… I wanted to create the absolute 5 star gold standard Covid-19 protection safety service for my patients,” he says. “And I feel that I have achieved that which, due to the state of the art technology, means I can return to my surgery this week.” In addition to the new guidelines, including pre-attendance assessment on the phone, contactless temperatures taken, enforced social distancing in reception, handwashing and viral mouthwashing, he has invested in some cutting edge technology, such as a plasma arc air-steriliser that passes the air volume in the surgery 9 x per minute sterilising it at each pass, and is “proven to kill 99.9999% of viruses and bacteria”, both on all visible surfaces and ambient air, creating a perfectly sterile environment to be used after every patient. As well as this he has purchased a UVC Plus sterilisation lamp which ensures all visable surfaces and ambient air are sterilised within 5 minutes of the lamp being activated.
Tarrant has also installed a new generation Cattani suction pump, which has a suction flow of 916 litres per minute. “This is over twice the recommended suction power to keep aerosol generated during dental procedures to an absolute minimum, a reduction of 95% proven. [It’s] another measure we have taken to maintain safety and part of our gold standard Covid-19 sterilisation protocol.”
Tarrant is also offering a ten minute, MHRA registered, Covid-19 antibody test as an extra service to any patient who wants one for £99. The test is 98% accurate. Which is good news all round. As Tarrant says, “Despite the screen and enhanced PPE, you will still see our comforting, smiling faces.”
UVC PLUS light