The BDA has issued urgent advice to dentists, sent by email to members on March 22. They say there should be a reduction in the amount of routine dental activity, particularly in respect of vulnerable groups and that staff and patient exposure to potential infection should be reduced by avoiding all aerosol generating procedures wherever possible. The BDA will continue to make the case forcefully that support should be offered to protect dentists’ NHS income and that this protection extends to associates.

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Read more: COVID-19: 23rd March Update I, BDA issues urgent advice to dentists

The BDA has responded to the new guidelines which probably spell the end of most routine care in England, lamenting the absence of any current safety net to support services through this crisis. The FGDP(UK) has published a consolidation of the advice given out by the four UK Chief Dental Officers.

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Read more: COVID-19 Weekend update II: BDA calls for action by NHS England and Faculty consolidates advice

The first article on how COVID-19 affected dental practice in Wuhan China has been published. Across the USA, individual states have been ordering dental practices to reduce contact with patients where possible. The Irish Dental Association has said that widespread closure of dental practices across the country is now inevitable.

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Read more: COVID-19 Weekend update I: Developments in China, USA and Republic of Ireland

The Chief and Deputy Chief Dental Officers for England have issued their latest update, with the expectation that the profession will ‘exercise clinical judgement’ in applying this guidance. It outlines changes that will apply to practices. Separately the BDA has reported that dentists could be ‘redeployed to support NHS’ and that dentists and their staff are ‘key workers’ when it comes to children attending school.

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Read more: COVID-19 20th March Update: CDO (Eng) advice published at last and updates from BDA

Update today includes a financial offer to Scottish dentists in return for not performing aerosol generating procedures. Anger intensifies over lack of guidance from CDO (England). Both the GDC and CQC have given some clarification about how they will be working during the emergency. The LDC Conference this year has been postponed from June to November 26/27 in Brighton.

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Read more: COVID-19 19th March: CDO(Eng) replies & Scottish dentists offered financial support package