We saw patients at the surgery were made to feel welcome and were greeted in a friendly way. We saw the provider had lots of information on display for patients. This information included dental charges, urgent care information and the patient complaints procedure.

One person we spoke with told us “I wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.” Another person told us “I prefer to stay here. I don’t want to go to another dentist.”

We saw patients completed medical questionnaires and these were reviewed whenever they visited the surgery for a new course of treatment. Patients were recalled in line with guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. This meant people were only asked to visit the dentist when their personal needs deemed it necessary.

We saw the provider’s surgery was kept clean and tidy. There were magazines and toys kept in the waiting area, for the use of patients. The magazines were regularly replaced and the toys were clean.

The staff at the surgery were able to describe to us, in detail, the decontamination process and steps they took to ensure equipment was properly cleaned. This meant the risks of cross contamination were minimised because the provider made sure dental equipment was properly cleaned.

We saw the provider had carried out regular audits to assess the quality of the service being offered by the surgery. This included patient record audits, infection control audits and emergency drugs audits.