Regular updates for dental teams regarding the developing COVID-19 situation are on the NHS website .

Information on the requirement for fallow time post Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) is detailed in the Chief Dental Officer England letter dated 28/08/2020. 

The fallow period is the 'time necessary for clearance of infectious aerosols after a procedure before decontamination of the surgery can begin' (FGDP, 2020).

Clinicians carry out Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGP) during which aerosols large enough to house the COVID-19 causing microorganisms (Sars-Cov-2) and are likely to have travelled to various surfaces in the dental room. Fallow time is required for the aerosols to settle before cleaning can commence.

Currently, dental practices in England are instructed to allow for a 60-minute fallow period following an aerosol generating procedure and before re-entering the room to clean for the next patient.

What does this mean for the dental laboratory? The 60-minute fallow time significantly reduces the number of appointments a clinician can offer to patients, and therefore also reduces the amount of work a dental laboratory will likely receive.

During the online meeting, concerns were raised with the CDO surrounding ways to be economic, the work speeds being adopted and the need for a standard and simple way of calculating how much fallow time is required when using different support systems.

The British Dental Association (BDA) and the British Association of Private Dentistry (BAPD) have both released statements questioning the length of fallow time imposed. BAPD group are calling for a reduction in the fallow time to 30 minutes for AGPs and no time for non-AGPs.

With the shutdown of dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic and the slow, phased stages to the resumption of normal services offered to the public by dentists, dental technicians (also known as dental technologists) who create all the dentures, crowns, bridges and braces for individual patients via dentists, are currently in an extremely difficult situation.

Having dedicated their lives to their career, these key workers in dentistry would normally be producing the various dental appliances needed by patients. However, currently and for the foreseeable future there will likely be insufficient prescribed work coming through to sustain these highly specialised dental team workers due to the restrictions in place on the number of appointments and types of services dentists are able to offer to the public.

Dental technologists are the oral healthcare unsung heroes. They study for years to be able to develop the knowledge and skills required to create precise, custom-made dental appliances. Their work requires a high level of manual dexterity and attention to detail and an application of applied aesthetic values. Each patient is unique and no two pieces are the same, therefore much of the work is carefully done by hand to fine-tune each piece to the exact specification to make sure the device is comfortable and effective for the patient prior to the final fitting with the dentist. Dental technologists work with specialised equipment in the dental laboratory, use a wide range of materials and have knowledge about the properties and application of each of these materials in order to design and construct appliances to the prescription and with absolute precision.

Whilst the dentists are being supported via the NHS, the country is likely to lose many of its professional dental technologists due to the lack of government support for these essential members of the dental team. Unless something radical is done before the next wave of COVID-19 or by the time the government funding schemes are phased out, there will be insufficient dental technologists within the dental care team to provide the appliances that patients require and the health of the population will likely suffer greatly.

Ends

Please share help us to raise awareness of these issues.

Coronavirus is having a significant impact on dental laboratories, and in addition to the immediate advice on how to safeguard your business, the DTA has produced a Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack to help you prepare your business to operate once again when it is safe to do so. These documents should form part of your regular business documentation and they might already be in place; however, they will need to be reviewed and updated before you reopen. It's important to review and update them on a regular basis. The pack can be utilised for any crisis impacting your business in the future, not just coronavirus. The pack includes:

• DTA Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack
• DTA SOP Template
• DTA Risk Assessment Sample Template

Two more templates have been added to the Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack to assist with new employee inductions and staff training in preparation for returning to work.

• Staff Training Record
• Employee Induction Checklist

Download the DTA Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack in the members' area. 

The government has issued main 6 steps to working safely during coronavirus. The first point on the list is to carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment. Use the DTA Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack which you can download from the members area and includes risk assessment information, a template and other documents to assist with the preparation for reopening the laboratory and safe working.

1. Complete a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risk from COVID-19

Complete a risk assessment, considering the measures set out in government guidance. Also consider reasonable adjustments needed for staff and customers with disabilities. Share it with all your staff. Keep it updated.. Find out how to do a risk assessment.

2. Provide adequate ventilation

You should make sure there is a supply of fresh air to indoor spaces where there are people present. This can be natural ventilation through opening windows, doors and vents, mechanical ventilation using fans and ducts, or a combination of both. You should identify any poorly ventilated spaces in your premises and take steps to improve fresh air flow in these areas. In some places, a CO2 monitor can help identify if the space is poorly ventilated. Read the advice on air conditioning and ventilation on the HSE website.

3. Clean more often

It's especially important to clean surfaces that people touch a lot. You should ask your staff and your customers to use hand sanitiser and to clean their hands frequently.

4. Turn away people with COVID-19 symptoms

Staff members or customers should self-isolate if they or someone in their household has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell. They must also self-isolate if they or a close contact has had a positive COVID-19 result, or if they have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace. If you know that a worker is self-isolating, you must not allow them to come to work. It's an offence to do this.

5. Enable people to check in at your venue

You're no longer legally required to collect customer contact details, but doing so will support NHS Test and Trace to contact those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 so that they can book a test. You can enable people to check in to your venue by by displaying an NHS QR code poster. You do not have to ask people to check in or turn people away if they refuse. If you choose to display a QR code, you should also have a system in place to record contact details for people who want to check in but do not have the app.

6. Communicate and train

Keep all your workers, contractors and visitors up-to-date on how you're using and updating safety measures.

These are the priority actions to make your business safer during coronavirus, you should also read the full version of the guidance.

To help with the above use the DTA Dental Laboratory Crisis Management Pack 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the nation-wide lockdown has created many challenges, whether it be your own health or that of a family member, financial worries, loss of employment or loneliness, they all have a huge impact on our mental health. It's important to recognise and raise awareness of the many things we can do to support and manage our wellbeing during this extraordinary situation.

Information overload? Make sure you 'switch off' from time to time and limit the time you spend on social media otherwise you can feel overwhelmed. Keep up-to-date using only factual information from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Government websites.

Keep connected. Being separated from family and friends can have a huge impact on your mental health. There are so many ways for us all to keep in contact now, especially via video calling, so make time to keep in touch with others. Consider those around you who may not have access to such technology.

Exercise and fresh air. Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on mental health and boosts your overall mood. It also relieves stress, improves memory and helps you sleep better. Make time for daily exercise outdoors if possible.

If you are preparing to get back to work, as an employer or an employee, it is important that you consider your own mental health and raise awareness of the importance of self-care to all your employees/colleagues. See below some useful steps for everyone to consider.

1. Employers need to be aware that some employees might feel very anxious about coming back to work and there are things that can be done to help manage the return to work process and reduce stress levels, such as:

a. complete risk assessments, update standard operating procedures and share these with all employees so that they can input and understand new ways of working for the safety of all.

b. consider using some of these posters to create a staff wellbeing board and point to useful resources for mental health such as these helplines on the NHS website.

2. Employees should provide constructive and practical feedback on the new standard operating procedures and discuss any concerns with their employer.

3. Follow hygiene measures advised by authorities. Hand washing, catching sneezes and coughs, and not touching your face are still a key strand in preventing the virus spreading.

4. Consider changing the method of transport you use to get to and from work, or the times you travel to avoid peak travel times. Employers could consider staggered start/finish times and flexible hours of working to allow employees to travel safely and observe social distancing guidelines.

5. The virus is likely to be a hot topic of conversation at work. Try to minimise gossip and hearsay about both the news and personal stories as this can cause anxiety.

If you need support during this difficult time, we would like to remind all our members that you have access to a counselling helpline as part of your membership benefits.

The return to work raises many more questions, not least surrounding your holiday entitlement. The government provide a detailed explanation and guidance on their website but here are some important things to note:

• Workers who have been placed on furlough continue to accrue statutory holiday entitlements, and any additional holiday provided for under their employment contract.
• Where a bank holiday falls inside a worker's period of furlough and the worker would usually have had the bank holiday as annual leave, the employer and the worker must agree to either take the bank holiday as annual leave while on furlough with full pay or, to defer the bank holiday to a later date.
• Employers can require workers to take holiday, however, advance notice periods are required and full pay must be received during the holiday period. Employers can continue to claim the 80% grant from the government to cover most of the cost of holiday pay.

Find out more on GOV.UK website England, Scotland & Wales   or visit here for Northern Ireland .

If you're working from home, it's important to protect your devices to ensure all personal information is secure. Read DTA article How cyber aware is your business? which highlights security measures to reduce the risk of a cyber attack and tips on how to secure your devices and data from malware and phishing attacks.The Federal Trade Commission offer these tips for protecting your devices and personal information, click read more.

Start with cybersecurity basics . Keep your security software up to date. Use passwords on all your devices and apps. Make sure the passwords are long, strong and unique: at least 12 characters that are a mix of numbers, symbols and capital and lowercase letters.

Secure your home network. Start with your router. Turn on encryption (WPA2 or WPA3). Encryption scrambles information sent over your network so outsiders can't read it. WPA2 and WPA3 are the most up-to-date encryption standards to protect information sent over a wireless network. No WPA3 or WPA2 options on your router? Try updating your router software, then check again to see if WPA2 or WPA3 are available. If not, consider replacing your router. For more guidance, read Securing Your Wireless Network  and Secure Remote Access .

Keep an eye on your laptop. If you're using a laptop, make sure it is password-protected, locked and secure. Never leave it unattended - like in a vehicle or at a public charging station.

Securely store sensitive files. When there's a legitimate business need to transfer confidential information from office to home, keep it out of sight and under lock and key. If you don't have a file cabinet at home, use a locked room. For more tips, read about physical security. 

Dispose of sensitive data securely. Don't just throw it in the trash or recycling bin. Shred it. Paperwork you no longer need can be treasure to identity thieves if it includes personal information about customers or employees.

Follow your employer's security practices. Your home is now an extension of your office. So, follow the protocols that your employer has implemented.

Read small business cybersecurity  materials and online security  articles.

by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle

Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer & Business Education

Published March 18, 2020 

The government are warning the public to be extra vigilant and be wary of scams related to coronavirus. They state that you can only access government schemes through the GOV.UK website. If someone texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC, saying that you can claim financial help or are owed a tax refund, and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, it is a scam. 

Taking account of the tightening of restrictions in the United Kingdom to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that you do all in your power to keep yourself, your team and your clients safe. Many of your clients may come from the most vulnerable groups. The UK test, track and trace system is a way to quickly get in touch with individuals who may have been in close contact with somebody who is infected. For this reason, it is important that your clients or patients agree that you can pass their contact details to the test and trace workers should you become infected at any point within a couple of days of having provided them with a service. Therefore, we are urging you all to produce a small leaflet with the following wording that you ask ALL your clients or patients to sign: 

DTA Statement in support of track and trace 

( NB this has been modified for dental laboratory and CDT use by the DTA)

CPNI, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastucture, have published Security Considerations in an Economically Challenging Time  to help businesses to protect assets and information. CPNI is the government authority for protective security advice to the UK national infrastructure.