The chief dental officer for Wales, Colette Bridgman, has issued a statement on the local lockdown rules for dentistry.
This comes as the country introduces its first localised lockdown in Caerphilly county, after a spike in COVID-19 cases.
More than 130 people tested positive in the last week, prompting the new measure to come into force from 6pm yesterday (8 September).
According to the BDA, Dr Bridgman reminded practices that Wales remains in amber alert, meaning certain requirements still apply.
These include:
- Face masks
- Social distancing
- COVID-19 risk assessments before appointments
- Enhanced PPE
- 10 minutes for disinfecting surgeries after non AGP procedures
- Fallow times – one hour, although 20 minutes is appropriate if a surgery is ventilated with at least 10 air changes each hour.
Local variations
The CDO says practices can swing between the high and low amber statuses, depending on the COVID circumstances in local areas.
The red alert in Wales was lifted on 22 June. This saw the resumption of more treatments, including aerosol generating procedures.
For those practices where a local lockdown is imposed, teams need to focus on urgent care. Additionally, patients should not be asked to travel in or out of local lockdown areas for routine care if it can be safely delayed.
Other general requirements for those in Caerphilly county include:
- Not entering or leaving the area
- All people over the age of 11 must wear face coverings in shops
- Friends and family cannot meet indoors or stay overnight
- Extended households cannot meet up.
Change in fallow time
This month, Wales was the first UK country to take steps in reducing the fallow time.
A minimum of 16 minutes fallow time is considered appropriate for short AGP treatments – those less than 10 minutes in length.
But this only applies to surgeries with the necessary ventilation systems where at least 10 air changes take place.
For AGP treatments that last 40 minutes, the fallow time increases to 18 minutes.
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