Poldent Dental Care

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations and had taken into consideration appropriate guidance.

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

The judgement for Assessing needs is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The provider had systems to ensure that people who used the service received person-centred care and treatment, that was appropriate, met their needs and was reflective of their personal preferences. Preventive oral health care was encouraged.

Staff kept up-to-date with current evidence-based practice, and had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.

The practice offered dental implants. Patients were provided with individualised detailed treatment plans and signed consent forms to support them to make decisions. Staff had access to the appropriate equipment for the placement of implants. We highlighted there was less detail in the patient care records, and this should be reviewed.

The practice offered orthodontic treatment for patients. The orthodontist carried out a patient assessment in line with recognised guidance from the British Orthodontic Society.

The practice should take action to ensure the clinicians take into account the guidance provided by the College of General Dentistry when completing dental care records.

We looked at 10 patient care records. We saw evidence the dentists justified, graded and reported on the radiographs they took. We were aware that a new clinical records system was in use at the practice. We noted some patient care records did not have information recorded in line with recognised guidance. For example, gum scores and the use of fluoride. The manager confirmed this would be reviewed to ensure all clinicians are using the system effectively to maintain consistent records.

Staff obtained patients’ consent for treatment in line with legislation and guidance and understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff described how they involved patients’ relatives or carers when appropriate and made sure they had enough time to explain treatment options clearly.

The practice had systems for prescribing and dispensing of medicines in line with current guidance. They carried out antimicrobial prescribing audits. We noted a pack of antimicrobials in a drawer which was accessible to all staff and highlighted these to the manager to secure.

Patients were referred to primary and secondary care specialists for treatment the practice did not provide. This included referring patients with suspected cancer under the national faster diagnosis pathways and we saw these were actioned and tracked appropriately.

The practice should implement a system to ensure routine patient referrals to other dental, or health care professionals are monitored. We looked at routine referrals and saw rejected referrals were not consistently actioned in a timely way. The system also showed 17% of routine referrals were rejected. We highlighted this to the manager to review and improve to prevent delays for patients.

Staff felt the practice supported them to develop and enabled them to take on responsibilities

The judgement for How staff, teams and services work together is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Supporting people to live healthier lives is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Monitoring and improving outcomes is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Consent to care and treatment is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.