Smile Dental Care Plymouth Also known as Smile Dental Care Group - Plymouth

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We found this practice was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations. We will be following up on our concerns to ensure the provider had made the required improvements.

During our inspection of this key question, we found the registered person had ineffective systems or processes to enable them to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services being provided.

This resulted in a breach of Regulation 17, good governance.

You can find more details of our concerns in the detailed findings below.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

The judgement for Shared direction and culture is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Freedom to speak up is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The provider’s oversight of regulatory requirements was ineffective. This review identified issues relating to risk management, infection control, staff recruitment, and quality assurance.

Shortfalls included failure to act on findings from the 2021 fixed wire testing and insufficient evidence that water temperature checks for Legionella were carried out in 2025. Fire safety management and staff training and recruitment processes lacked sufficient documentation and oversight. Improvements were needed to ensure decontamination of dental instruments consistently met national guidance.

Auditing systems required improvement. Radiography, antimicrobial prescribing, and dental record audits did not consistently provide feedback to clinicians or identify areas for improvement. The disability access audit did not fully reflect the practice’s accessibility needs and required updating. We advised the leadership team to enhance audit processes to include clear learning points and demonstrate resulting improvements.

Staff were aware of the importance of protecting patients’ personal information. Staff password protected patients’ electronic care records, and paper records were stored securely and complied with General Data Protection Regulations.

There were effective processes for investigating incidents and accidents, and for receiving and acting on safety alerts.

Concerns and complaints were responded to appropriately, and outcomes were discussed to share learning and for improvement.

Staff feedback was obtained through meetings and informal discussions. They were encouraged to offer suggestions for improvements to the service, and they said these were listened to and acted upon, where appropriate.

The judgement for Partnerships and communities is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Learning, improvement and innovation is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.