At our inspection of 22 May 2013 we found people were not always fully protected against the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had not been followed sufficiently. We judged that this had a minor impact on people using the service and action was needed to meet essential standards of quality and safety.

At our inspection of 11 December 2013 we did not speak to people who used the service as the focus of our inspection was on infection prevention and control processes. We found that the provider had made improvements in response to the previous inspection and appropriate guidance was now being followed to protect people from the risk of infection.

People we spoke with told us they were very happy with the service they received. The appointment system worked well and the practice was able to accommodate them at short notice. One person said, “I only phoned yesterday and they were able to fit me in today.”

People said the staff were welcoming and friendly and were very reassuring if they had any worries about dental treatment. The dentist explained their treatment and aftercare fully and gave them clear information about the cost of treatment before going ahead.

There were suitable safeguarding and emergency arrangements in place in order to ensure patient safety.

The dental practice appeared clean on the day of our visit and people commented favourably about this. One person said, “The standard of cleanliness is very good.”

There were arrangements in place for the decontamination of dental instruments. However, appropriate guidance on the storage of decontaminated instruments and self assessment and evaluation of decontamination processes had not been followed sufficiently.