When we visited Illume Dental Practice we spoke to two patients, a dentist, a dental nurse and the practice manager. We also spoke to a patient on the telephone about the practice. We observed how reception staff communicated with patients, looked at dental records and at how instruments were cleaned and sterilised.

The patients told us that the dentist had always asked about their medical history at every visit and explained their treatment to them. We looked at treatment plans and the information that had been given to patients about their treatment. Computerised treatment plans had been recorded that detailed each visit and also alerted clinicians to any health related concerns.

Patients told us, "all my four children liked going to the dentist and have been referred to the orthodontist", "the dentist is very thorough and treatments are carefully done" and "record keeping excellent between dentists for continuity.

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk of infection and clinical staff knew about the decontamination procedures to clean and sterilise instruments. The systems in the practice had been regularly audited and patient's views had been sought to help ensure that quality assurance was completed and comments acted upon.