Archived: Bedford Place Dental Centre

We noted the dentist had updated equipment regularly and had maintained training in new techniques. One patient said, "the dentist has some great new gadgets and shows me pictures of my problems on the computer screen. I feel reassured that I can see what they are telling me is wrong." One person said, "the dentist involves me in my treatment plan and listens to my views on what I want. I do not feel pressured into having the treatment the dentist suggests."

We observed the dentist carrying out decontamination of instruments and they explained the process they followed. The practice did not have a dedicated room and instruments were cleaned and sterilised in the dentist's surgery. We found this process was working effectively. One patient told us, "the cleanliness is excellent and the standard of equipment used and hygiene is of the highest."

We looked at staff records and saw all appropriate checks had been completed to ensure staff were of good character and suitably qualified prior to them working in the practice. The dentist told us about their recruitment policy and showed us their current recruitment process for a dental nurse.

We looked in management records for fire, health and safety and other checks carried out by practice staff. These were carried out regularly and were up to date. The dentist spoke with us about their comments and complaints process and how they gathered feedback from patients. We found this appeared to be an effective system as the dentist responded quickly to prevent concerns becoming complaints.