Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how many and what proportion of dental surgeries have been able to return to operating at full capacity.
Dental practices have been able to open for face to face National Health Service care, including routine care, from 8 June. The guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement to NHS contract holders was clear that the pace of the restart should be only as fast as possible compatible with maximizing safety for patients and dental staff. Dental practices must follow Public Health England guidance on infection protection control procedures (IPC) and appropriate levels of personal protective equipment.
No dental practices are currently delivering at full capacity due to the greater IPC required to safely deliver dental care while COVID-19 is circulating in the community.
A copy of the IPC guidance can be found at the following link: