Please note that we still ask all patients who are able to wear a mask or facial covering if you are visiting the practice.
Document date: 07/02/2022
UPDATE 07/02/2022
We are operating as close to normal as possible, but would like to remind patients that masks are still required when attending the practice.
All registered patients (ie. those who have attended within the last 3 years) can get in touch with us to make an appointment for a routine check up. Please note, we will be unable to carry out routine, clinically unnecessary scaling at these check up appointments as this is classified as an aerosol generating procedure. If you would like us to check your teeth and take x-rays, please get in touch.
You may have to wait some time before we are able to fit you in as we need to still make allowances in the diary for emergency, treatment and fallow time where the surgery cannot be used following any aerosol generating procedures.
UPDATE 29/12/2021
If you’re having toothache over the new years bank holiday, please call the Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance on 0333 332 3800 to be given an emergency appointment. There are a limited number of appointments available across Greater Manchester. South Manchester Dental Emergency Cooperative (SMDEC) will have some appointments available as they use one of our surgeries out of hours
As we move into the new year and COVID cases are rapidly on the rise, we ask patients to please be understanding if we have to rearrange any appointments due to any staff shortage. Although our services have not been limited at the moment, hospitals and other dental practices are under a great deal of pressure at the moment due to staff shortages and COVID positive cases.
Please do not be offended if we ask you to attend another day if you have a cough.
We ask patients to review the following questions before their appointments –
* A new, continuous cough means coughing for longer than an hour, or
three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours. If the patient usually has a
cough, it may be worse than usual.
If you answer YES to any of the above questions please get in touch to cancel and rearrange your appointment.
If you’re having toothache over the new years bank holiday, please call the Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance on 0333 332 3800 to be given an emergency appointment. There are a limited number of appointments available across Greater Manchester. South Manchester Dental Emergency Cooperative (SMDEC) will have some appointments available as they use one of our surgeries out of hours
UPDATE 15/7/2021
England’s Chief Nurse has today reminded the public that everyone accessing or visiting healthcare settings must continue to wear a face covering and follow social distancing rules.
Covid restrictions will end in many settings in England from Monday.
However, Public Health England’s infection prevention control guidelines and hospital visiting guidance are set to remain in place for all staff and visitors.
That means NHS visitor guidance will stay in place across all health services including hospitals, GP practices, dental practices, optometrists and pharmacies to ensure patients and staff are protected.
Staff, patients and visitors will also be expected to continue to follow social distancing rules when visiting any care setting as well as using face coverings, mask and other personal protection equipment.
The NHS will continue to support staff in ensuring that the guidance is followed in all healthcare settings.
please see this link for more information
UPDATE 12/7/2021
From 19th July, dental care at the Vallance Dental Centre will continue as it has been. Despite restrictions easing publicly, there has been no new announcements regarding dental care.
The BDA have written that – “Dentists and their teams are asking whether they can or should insist on the continued use of face coverings, and whether they should persist with social distancing. We are awaiting further Government guidance next week, with the Secretary of State for Health so far having told parliament that it would make sense for guidelines such as the two metre rule to continue in “some specific settings”, including medical environments.”
As such, we will continue to offer care as per current infection control guidelines. This means that there has been no changes from the previous post –
We have limited availability for all patients to book an examination appointment. This means all registered patients (ie. those who have attended within the last 3 years) can get in touch with us to make an appointment for a routine check up. Please note, we will be unable to carry out routine, clinically unnecessary scaling at these check up appointments as this is classified as an aerosol generating procedure. If you would like us to check your teeth and take x-rays, please get in touch.
You may have to wait some time before we are able to fit you in as we need to still make allowances in the diary for emergency, treatment and fallow time where the surgery cannot be used following any aerosol generating procedures.
UPDATE 28/4/2021
From Monday 3rd March, we have limited availability for all patients to book an examination appointment. This means all registered patients (ie. those who have attended within the last 3 years) can get in touch with us to make an appointment for a routine check up. Please note, we will be unable to carry out routine, clinically unnecessary scaling at these check up appointments as this is classified as an aerosol generating procedure. If you would like us to check your teeth and take x-rays, please get in touch.
You may have to wait some time before we are able to fit you in as we need to still make allowances in the diary for emergency, treatment and fallow time where the surgery cannot be used following any aerosol generating procedures.
UPDATE 10/1/2021
From Monday 11th Jan, registered adults under the age of 30 who are not vulnerable or shielding can book for a check up along with any parents attending with their children (ie. family appointments). Please contact us if you would like an appointment and are not self isolating and are showing no symptoms of COVID-19. Please note, we will be unable to carry out routine, clinically unnecessary scaling at these check up appointments as this is classified as an aerosol generating procedure.
UPDATE 4/1/2021
Preliminary information from the Chief Dental Officer indicates that dentistry will continue to operate as it has been doing. It has been confirmed that dentistry is classed as an essential medical service and that patients are entitled to travel for medical and dental appointments. As such, there is no new information to add to the previous update dated 2/1/2021
UPDATE 2/1/2021
We continue to be open during our regular hours for dental care during the tier 4 restrictions. Please get in touch if you have a dental problem. The previous update still applies
UPDATE 5/11/2020
The Chief Dental Officer England, Sara Hurley, has confirmed that dental practices can remain open during the heightened restrictions. As such, we will remain open to see and treat our patients.
UPDATE 2/11/2020
We are awaiting further guidance and information from England’s Chief Dental Officer if dental services will be affected by the imminent month long lockdown. It is unlikely that the clinic will close completely, there is a chance we may need to return to urgent only appointments. Telephone consultations will continue as an initial point of contact. We anticipate an announcement by the end of the week and will update here when we have that information.
Document date: 25/10/2020
UPDATE 25/10/2020
Despite Greater Manchester entering tier 3 restrictions, the practice is still open as no further restrictions have been placed on dental care. We are still limited as to the capacity of our surgery as rooms must be left fallow for aerosol to settle following the use of any instrument powered by compressed air eg. dental hi speed drill.
Please note – we are still not taking on any new NHS patients at this moment in time
UPDATE: 23/07/2020
We would like to thank everyone for their understanding and patience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the 8th June, we have been following guidance from NHS England – the return of care should be staged with an initial focus on urgent and emergency care. We have been (and will continue to) initially carry out telephone triage with a dentist to patients to advise on dental problems, assess the severity of the problem and, if required, arrange a suitable appointment. We have also been contacting patients in the following order-
It should be noted that treatment is categorised as either Aerosol Generating or Non-Aerosol Generating. Following an Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP), the dental surgery must be left empty and unused for 1 hour to allow any particles in the air to settle before a full room decontamination. As such, the number of treatment appointments available is significantly reduced in order to maintain patient safety. We are unable to see the volume of patients we would normally see. We may need to see you for an assessment to determine which appointment type is appropriate.
We are working our way through the outstanding treatments and now have limited capacity for routine child dental examinations. Please contact us if you would like to book your children in for a routine examination.
We will look a bit different if you haven’t seen us recently- please don’t be alarmed! The PPE required for AGP (left) and Non-AGP (right) can be seen here-
If we are wearing a respirator or FFP3 mask for an AGP it can be quite difficult to be heard from behind the mask- so please bear with us!
Thankyou for your understanding. Please note that from 24th July it is mandatory to wear a mask if you are visiting the practice.
UPDATE: 8/06/2020
From the 8th June The Vallance centre will have a limited number of emergency appointments available to its regular patients. We are proud to be amongst only a third of practices which have prepared sufficiently to be open for face to face appointments from 8th June.
These limited emergency appointments are for Non-Aerosol Generating Procedures (Non-AGP) only. There are limitations on what treatment can be provided – Broadly speaking, emergency Non-AGP treatment includes temporary fillings and simple dental extractions. Complex dental extractions and permanent fillings will not be available. Routine dental care and hygienist appointments are currently suspended.
In order to access the emergency Non-AGP appointments, please call on 0161 273 5998 after 9am . You will first have a telephone triage consultation with a dentist to determine if we can help you at an appointment with the current limitations in place. These appointments will be only be made by telephone – we ask that you do not come into the practice unless you have an appointment or need to collect a prescription. Should it be determined that you would benefit from an emergency non-AGP appointment, it is unlikely this will be with your regular dentist.
We are expecting a delivery of enhanced PPE in July which will allow us to do Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) which includes a wider range of treatments, including using drills. We ask that you bear with us during this period, the situation and advice is changing rapidly and we will adapt as this progresses. The notice period to resume dental services and place appropriate measures in place has been very short and we had no advance notice before the public announcement. Any changes in the booking arrangements will be published here.
UPDATE: 28/05/2020
This evening, in a letter to all practices, NHS England’s chief dental officer, Sara Hurley, said: “Today, we are asking that all dental practices commence opening from Monday, 8 June for all face-to-face care, where practices assess that they have the necessary IPC and PPE requirements in place.”
This announcement comes as a surprise to all the dental community. Rest assured, we will be making haste with plans on how to return to work safely for patients and dental staff members. During the pandemic we have been focused on our number one priority – the well being of our patients and colleagues. We have been been involved with the Greater Manchester Urgent Dental Centre initiative and are knowledgeable with the operating procedures required to practice safely. Both Wales and Scotland have detailed guidance on phased return to work for dentistry, unfortunately there is no such guidance for England.
At this stage our feeling is that care will be limited to Urgent Non-aerosol generating procedures (Non-AGP). This includes simple dental extractions and temporary fillings.
Please be reassured we will be considering all the above and updating our website when we have finalised our return to work plan in anticipation of seeing patients from the 8th June if we are satisfied that we have all the necessary processes and protective equipment to do so safely. We will continue to update this page on a regular basis. In the meantime, please don’t contact the practice to make a new appointment, but feel free to call if you require a telephone consultation with a dentist regarding dental concerns or toothache.
UPDATE: 26/05/2020
We are still awaiting guidance from England’s Chief Dental Officer regarding the provision of dental care. Wales Chief Dental Officer released some guidelines at the end of last week which is reshaping NHS dental care in Wales. We are uncertain if the same changes will be implemented in England at this stage. Currently, the previous guidance still applies. NHS dental practices must refer their patients to designated UDCs (Urgent Dental Centres) to receive treatment for for urgent dental care
If you have a dental emergency…..
Registered patient – Please call the practice on 0161 273 5998, we will provide advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. Should you require a referral to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment we will be able to do this for you.
Unregistered patient – Please call 0333 332 3800 to be booked into an urgent care centre to receive advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. You may be referred to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment.
Weekend – Please call 0333 332 3800 to be booked into an urgent care centre to receive advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. You may be referred to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment.
UPDATE 11/05/2020 Regarding the Prime Minister’s Sunday announcement 10/5/2020
Despite the Prime Minister’s statement there is no indication that we will be returning to routine dental care at this moment in time.
The advice from the BDA currently is
“There have been no indications that the frameworks for the provision of dental care across the four UK countries has changed. Discussions are taking place across the UK about how dentistry emerges from the lockdown however, until we are advised otherwise, we are working under the assumption that the existing advice for practices still applies. This means practices are still to treat initially via advice, analgesics and antibiotics where appropriate, and to triage care into the various urgent care systems”
We will update this page as soon as we have further information
If you have a dental emergency…..
Registered patient – Please call the practice on 0161 273 5998, we will provide advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. Should you require a referral to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment we will be able to do this for you.
Unregistered patient – Please call 0333 332 3800 to be booked into an urgent care centre to receive advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. You may be referred to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment.
Weekend – Please call 0333 332 3800 to be booked into an urgent care centre to receive advice, analgesics and (where appropriate) antibiotics. You may be referred to an urgent care centre for a face to face appointment.
UPDATE 08/05/2020
BANK HOLIDAY DENTAL EMERGENCY – for dental emergencies on bank holiday Friday and the weekend please call 0333 332 3800 if you have a dental emergency
Please see previous update below for more information on what is classified as a dental emergency.
UPDATE 21/04/2020
Urgent Care Centres in Manchester are now carrying out emergency treatment. This is divided into Aerosol Generating Procedures (essentially, those requiring a drill) and non Aerosol Generating procedures (extracting teeth). We are in the process of clarifying the exact procedure for patients to access this service. You may need to be referred by us electronically to one of these urgent care centres to access this service. It is not clear if calling 0333 332 3800 is only available to unregistered patients. We will update this page as soon as we have the information. It is important to remember the following information regarding the definition of urgent treatment –
UPDATE 13/04/2020
There has been limited PPE delivery to Urgent Care Centres. As such, treatment are currently limited to the most severe dental emergencies. Some of these clinics will be taking place at The Vallance Dental Centre.
You can only access this service by telephoning 0333 332 3800, if you telephone the practice we can only provide advice, analgesics and antibiotics (if appropriate), we are unable to book patients directly into an Urgent Care Centre. You Must telephone 0333 332 3800 to access urgent dental treatment.
We are not sure how long this will be the case for, but will endeavour to update this possible when new information is passed onto us. We are still hoping to be able to resume to routine dental care as soon possible once we are advised it is safe to do so by NHS England and the Chief Dental Officer.
UPDATE 04/04/2020
Specialised Urgent Care Centres are currently being designated across Manchester which can be accessed by telephoning 0333 332 3800. The Vallance Dental Centre is likely to be a designated Urgent Care Centre for specific categories of patients. You can only access this service by telephoning 0333 332 3800, if you telephone the practice we can only provide advice, analgesics and antibiotics (if appropriate), we are unable to book patients directly into the Urgent Care Centre. You Must telephone 0333 332 3800.
All Urgent Care Centres in Greater Manchester are still awaiting appropriate PPE so are still unable to carry out treatment. At this moment in time Urgent Care Centres are only providing telephone advice which consists of advice, analgesics and antibiotics (if appropriate).
Please be assured we are doing all we can to be able to return to a normal service as soon as possible, but this may take some time. At the moment the priority in accordance with guidance is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through the population.
UPDATE 29/3/2020
Public Health England and Robert Jenrick have advised that adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) has been delivered to dental primary care. We have still not any adequate PPE for aerosol generating procedures (disposable gowns, visors, FFP3 masks). Without this equipment, it is impossible to safely carry out emergency procedures for patients and staff. Given that 10% of infections are healthcare workers (according to the WHO) it is essential to have this equipment to ensure the safety of clinicians and our patients.
We still have no knowledge of any dental clinics in Greater Manchester that have received appropriate equipment to safely carry out emergency dental care. As of yet, no specialist urgent dental care centres are ready or are seeing patients with a dental emergency in Greater Manchester. We are aware that this is still a work in progress and there is a substantial effort to mobilise this service.
UPDATE 26/3/2020
Letter from England Chief Dental Officer –
Summary:
1) All routine, non-urgent dental care including orthodontics should be stopped and deferred until advised otherwise.
2) Move to a telephone triage system
3) Telephone triage will be carried out and advice will be provided, if necessary advice on pain relief and antibiotics will be prescribed if appropriate
4) If pain cannot be managed by this, then specialist local urgent dental care centers will be set up which can be accessed by telephoning 111
As of 26/3/2020 as far as we know, these local urgent dental centers with appropriate highly filtered PPE3 masks and protection are not fully mobilised in Greater Manchester but hopefully will be soon.
Below correct as of 24/3/2020
Following recent guidance from NHS England and the Department of Health, dental practices have been advised to STOP AEROSOL SPRAYS and PRIORITISE URGENT TREATMENT where possible.
Due to the above advice, we have had to limit care to the highest priority emergencies only.
As well as reducing risk to staff and patients, this will also prevent unnecessary travel in an attempt to reduce virus transmission. This information aims to advise people in pain who still need to access care and also support people in managing minor symptoms at home.
If you need to access emergency care:
If YES to any of the above, CALL 111. They will direct you to an emergency facility with appropriate protective equipment which will allow staff to treat you safely. Currently in Manchester as of 24/3/2020 this specialist service with protective equipment has yet to be set up.
Anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen) can help reduce sensitivity from teeth. Combining paracetamol and ibuprofen has also been shown to be effective.
There is currently a suspicion that ibuprofen could make COVID-19 worse.
If you have no coronavirus symptoms carry on taking ibuprofen as normal.
Until we have more information, take paracetamol to treat symptoms of coronavirus, unless your doctor has told you paracetamol is not suitable for you.
Painkillers should always be taken in accordance with instructions on the packet. Taking too many tablets, or taking medications incorrectly will not improve your symptoms, and can cause serious stomach and liver injury which can be life threatening.
If the tooth is extremely sensitive to hot or cold, antibiotics will not help. The decay must be removed and filled. Unfortunately at this moment in time, we are unable to do any decay removal as aerosol generating procedures are limited.
These home measures may help make symptoms manageable until care can be accessed.
Good cleaning with fluoride toothpaste and reducing sugar intake will help stop decay from getting any worse.
Desensitising/sensitive toothpaste (like sensodyne repair and protect) can help. Rub toothpaste directly on the affected area and do not rinse afterwards. Anaesthetic gel such as Orajel can help ease pain.
If there is a hole in the tooth, or a tooth has cracked and is now sensitive/sharp, a temporary filling can be packed into the space.
These are widely available from supermarkets and pharmacies:
Wisdom tooth pain is usually due to inflammation of the gum over the erupting tooth, which can be worsened by trauma from biting.
Most flare ups can be managed with good home care and should settle in a few days to a week:
Excellent cleaning (even if it is painful to brush, the area must be kept clean to encourage healing)
If you have difficulty swallowing, swelling in your face or cheek or difficulty opening your mouth, call your dentist. You may need antibiotics if the infection is spreading.
Although painful, most ulcers will heal within 7-10 days. Non-healing ulcers/oral lesions present for more than 3 weeks should be assessed by a dentist or doctor.
Warm salty mouthwash 4 times per day
Excellent cleaning (even if it is painful to brush, the mouth must be kept clean to encourage healing and prevent more ulcers forming. Be gentle and use a soft/baby toothbrush).
Difflam (Benzydamine) spray or mouthwash as needed.
Soft diet (soft food will reduce trauma from biting)
Painkillers (ibuprofen or paracetamol following packet instructions)
(Denture adhesives like fixodent may help secure a loose denture. Any sharp edges can be removed using an emery board. Remove dentures when possible if causing trauma.)
Corsodyl mouthwash (avoid use for over 1 week as may cause staining)
You could potentially have a dry socket if you have pain following an extraction.
Continue to take regular painkillers for several days after extraction, it is normal for the pain to be at its worst at day 3-4.
We cannot provide antibiotics for pain after extractions unless infection is present. We also cannot prescribe antibiotics over the phone without seeing you in person.
If you smoke or rinse too soon after an extraction, you risk a dry socket. This can be very painful and regular painkillers are unlikely to be effective. You should call your dentist for an emergency appointment.
Some pink spit/oozing is normal after an extraction, but if the socket is bleeding freely, bite hard on gauze or a clean hankie for 20 minutes (as in the picture above). If bleeding has not stopped, call your dentist.
Bleeding from gums is NOT a dental emergency.
Bleeding gums are usually due to gum disease, and will not stop until brushing improves. Brush 2x a day with fluoride toothpaste for 2 minutes, concentrating especially on the areas that are bleeding. Use floss or te-pe brushes to clean between your teeth every day.
Corsodyl mouthwash can be helpful if used twice a day (avoid use for more than 1week as may cause staining)
You can buy temporary crown cement from boots, superdrug or online. For example :
