We inspected this service in December 2012. At that time we found the service was not fully compliant with regulations. During this visit we found that improvements had been made and the service was compliant. We found that treatment plans were in place for people who used the service. Dental staff had undertaken training about infection control. Cleaning schedules were in place for ensuring the service was kept clean and therefore reducing the risk of infection. People told us they thought the service was clean. One person said "oh yeah, it's clean here."

People told us that treatment options were explained, and that they were treated with respect. When asked if treatments were explained clearly one person said "if you don't understand you ask a bit more, but nine times out of ten it's clear." We saw that staff interacted with people in a polite and respectful manner, and that confidential discussions were held in private. People told us they were happy with the support and treatment they received. One person told us "my dentist is very good." We found that the service had supplies of medications and oxygen for use in emergencies. Staff told us that treatment plans were supposed to be in place for all treatments. However, we found that there were only treatment plans in place for the five appointments we selected at random.

We saw that the practice had a designated decontamination room, and people told us they observed the treatment areas to be clean. However, we found that sterilised equipment was not always dated, and found that dirty items were stored alongside clean items in treatment rooms. We also found that the two dental nurses employed at the practice had not undertaken any training in infection control and prevention, although the two dentists had taken this training.

We found that the service had a complaints procedure, and people we spoke with said they had not had to make a complaint, but felt confident they would be listened to if they needed to.